Payroll jobs relatively steady into mid-November
Payroll jobs decreased 0.2 per cent in the month to 11 November 2023, after a 0.2 per cent rise last month, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said: “The number of payroll jobs has remained relatively steady over the past couple of months, with the recent monthly fall of 0.2 per cent offsetting the similar sized rise in the month before.”
“In line with the smaller monthly changes in payroll jobs in recent months, annual growth has also slowed from what we saw earlier in 2023, when it was particularly strong.”
Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.
Mid-Aug represents the week ending 15 August 2020, 14 August 2021, 13 August 2022 and 12 August 2023.
Mid-Nov represents the week ending 14 November 2020, 13 November 2021, 12 November 2022 and 11 November 2023.
Mid-Feb represents the week ending 13 February 2021, 12 February 2022 and 11 February 2023.
Mid-May represents the week ending 15 May 2021, 14 May 2022, and 13 May 2023.
The fall in payroll jobs between mid-October and mid-November reflected a high number of temporary jobs in the Public administration and safety industry finishing after the October referendum. By mid-November, payroll jobs in the industry had returned closer to their pre-referendum level.
Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.
Mid-Feb represents the week ending 11 February 2023.
Mid-May represents the week ending 13 May 2023.
Mid-Aug represents the week ending 12 August 2023.
Mid-Nov represents the week ending 11 November 2023.
“The high number of temporary jobs related to the referendum had a visible effect on the labour market over the past couple of months, contributing to the increase into mid-October and fall into mid-November," Mr Jarvis said.
"If the influence of these temporary jobs around the referendum was removed, the total number of payroll jobs would have increased over the past month, by around 0.3 per cent.”
In contrast to the Public administration and safety industry, which is usually relatively stable and has a low degree of seasonal change, the Education and training industry showed the usual seasonal increase in jobs following the spring holidays.
“The recovery in payroll jobs in the Education and training industry after the spring holidays, an increase of around 3.0 per cent, was similar to what was seen last year. It accounted for around half of the underlying increases in payroll jobs,” Mr Jarvis said.
“While the Education and training industry has the most pronounced seasonal changes in payroll jobs around term breaks, it is important to remember that these seasonal changes are not confined solely to that industry. As with changes in hours worked data from the Labour Force Survey, seasonal changes can also be seen in other industries, as parents and carers take time off and businesses reduce their operations during the holidays – especially during summer.”
“Single Touch Payroll data provides unique insights into the extent of seasonal change across industries, to a much better extent than was historically possible from quarterly data. It’s very powerful data.”
Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.
Mid-Aug represents the week ending 15 August 2020, 14 August 2021, 13 August 2022 and 12 August 2023.
Mid-Nov represents the week ending 14 November 2020, 13 November 2021, 12 November 2022 and 11 November 2023.
Mid-Feb represents the week ending 13 February 2021, 12 February 2022 and 11 February 2023.
Mid-May represents the week ending 15 May 2021, 14 May 2022, and 13 May 2023.
Payroll jobs in the Retail trade industry continued to rise in the month to mid-November (up 1.1 per cent), leading into the peak shopping season.
Payroll jobs fell in most states and territories
Payroll jobs fell in five of the eight states and territories into mid-November 2023, with the largest falls in Victoria and Queensland, both down 0.4 per cent. These states accounted for around three-quarters (76.5 per cent) of the total fall over the month. Western Australia saw the largest rise of 0.5 per cent.
“In line with the change at the national level, all states and territories saw considerable falls in the temporary jobs related to the referendum, and seasonal increases in jobs in the Education and training industry,” Mr Jarvis said.
Over the year to mid-November 2023, payroll jobs rose in every state and territory, with the Northern Territory recording the largest growth (up 4.6 per cent) and New South Wales and Queensland the smallest (both up 1.7 per cent).
Media notes
- Payroll jobs are not seasonally adjusted, which generally requires at least three years of reasonably stable data. The longstanding seasonally adjusted Labour Force statistics series can aid in the interpretation of labour statistics across periods of greater seasonality, through the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Payroll jobs are predominantly employee jobs paid through payrolls. Some industries, such as Agriculture, forestry and fishing and Construction have high proportions of owner managers who are not included in payroll reporting. See the Scope and coverage section in the Methodology of this release for more information.
- In each release, payroll job estimates are revised as more complete data are received. The magnitude of revisions can vary at some points of the year, such as the start and end of the financial and calendar year in line with changes in the reporting activity of businesses.
- The ABS acknowledges the continued support of the ATO in enabling the ABS to produce weekly insights into the Australian labour market from Single Touch Payroll data.
- When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) must be attributed as the source.
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