The ABS will be closed from 12.00pm, 24 December 2024 and will reopen at 9.00am, 2 January 2025. During this time there will be no statistical releases and our support functions will be unavailable. The ABS wishes you a safe and happy Christmas.

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

This is not the latest release View the latest release

Payroll jobs and wages estimates, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period
Week ending 24 April 2021
Released
11/05/2021

Key statistics

The latest fortnight of data continues to show some signs of seasonality around the end of the school holiday period. For further information, see the Media Release.

Between the weeks ending 10 April and 24 April 2021:

  • Payroll jobs increased by 0.4%
  • Total wages paid increased by 0.3%

National

    In the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021:

    • Payroll jobs increased by 0.4%, compared to a decrease of 1.6% in the previous fortnight
    • Total wages paid increased by 0.3%, compared to a decrease of 3.0% in the previous fortnight
    Table 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs and wages
    In the fortnight since 10 Apr 2021In the month since 27 Mar 2021In the year since 11 Apr 2020
    Payroll jobs0.4%-1.2%10.6%
    Total wages0.3%-2.7%9.2%

    Estimates of changes throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded index values. They may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded index values.

    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions

    State and territory

    All geographical areas in this release represent the residential address of the job holder. 

    The largest changes in states and territories in the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs:

    • Northern Territory increased by 0.9%
    • Queensland increased by 0.7%

    Total wages:

    • Northern Territory increased by 2.1%
    • Tasmania increased by 0.8%
    Table 2 - Percentage change by states and territories
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021
    New South Wales0.3%1.4%0.3%2.0%
    Victoria0.4%1.5%0.4%4.9%
    Queensland0.7%1.3%0.6%2.4%
    South Australia0.3%3.6%0.6%4.2%
    Western Australia0.1%4.5%-0.6%0.1%
    Tasmania0.2%1.1%0.8%2.2%
    Northern Territory0.9%5.4%2.1%6.4%
    Australian Capital Territory0.2%1.3%0.4%4.0%
    Australia0.4%1.9%0.3%2.8%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
     

    Map 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 24 April 2021

    Loading map...

    Percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021, by states and territories:
    - New South Wales (0.3%)
    - Victoria (0.4%)
    - Queensland (0.7%)
    - South Australia (0.3%)
    - Western Australia (0.1%)
    - Tasmania (0.2%)
    - Northern Territory (0.9%)
    - Australian Capital Territory (0.2%)

    Sub-state - payroll jobs

    Updated estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions were added to this release on Wednesday 12 May 2021. 

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions, Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Statistical Area 3 (SA3), are presented as index values through to the week ending 24 April 2021 in Table 5 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases. 

    For more information on the geography used in this release, see the Glossary.

    Sex

    In the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Worked by females increased by 0.3%
    • Worked by males increased by 0.3%

    Total wages: 

    • Payments to males increased by 0.5%
    • Payments to females held steady (0.0%)
    Table 3 - Percentage change by sex
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021
    Males0.3%-0.1%0.5%0.6%
    Females0.3%1.4%0.0%5.1%
    All persons (b)0.4%1.9%0.3%2.8%


    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions
    b. Indexes for males and females can move independently from All persons indexes due to the inclusion of persons with 'unknown' sex in the calculation of All persons. For more information see Data components, totals and index calculation in Data limitations and revisions.


     

    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions

    Age group

    The largest changes in age groups in the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Worked by people aged 15-19 increased by 3.1%
    • Worked by people aged 70 years and over decreased by 0.7%

    Total wages: 

    • Payments to people aged 70 years and over decreased by 1.1%
    • Payments to people aged 40-49 and 50-59 increased by 0.5%. 
    Table 4 - Percentage change by age group
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021
    15-19 year olds3.1%1.8%-0.5%7.6%
    20-29 year olds0.0%0.0%0.1%3.5%
    30-39 year olds0.1%2.1%0.3%2.9%
    40-49 year olds0.4%1.4%0.5%0.6%
    50-59 year olds0.5%2.5%0.5%2.5%
    60-69 year olds0.1%5.7%-0.2%7.4%
    Aged 70 years and over-0.7%5.1%-1.1%9.4%
    All persons0.4%1.9%0.3%2.8%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.

    5 year age groups

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups (presented as index values) up to the week ending 24 April 2021 are available in Table 8 of the Data downloads. 

    Industry

    The largest changes in industries in the fortnight up to the week ending 24 April 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Information media and telecommunications increased by 2.2%
    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 1.4%

    Total wages: 

    • Retail trade decreased by 3.6%
    • Administrative and support services increased by 3.6%
    Table 5 - Percentage change by industry
     Payroll jobs Total wages (b) 
     Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021
    Agriculture, forestry and fishing-1.4%-2.3%-0.2%4.0%
    Mining0.7%1.1%-0.8%-16.6%
    Manufacturing0.6%-2.1%1.3%-2.4%
    Electricity, gas, water and waste services1.0%3.2%0.4%-1.5%
    Construction0.6%-0.5%1.3%-0.3%
    Wholesale trade0.8%-1.6%0.0%-2.9%
    Retail trade0.4%-1.1%-3.6%0.9%
    Accommodation and food services0.8%-10.3%-2.7%-5.9%
    Transport, postal and warehousing1.1%-6.8%-0.5%-5.8%
    Information media and telecommunications2.2%-6.7%1.3%1.2%
    Financial and insurance services1.1%7.7%1.2%0.4%
    Rental, hiring and real estate services0.2%-0.9%-0.3%3.5%
    Professional, scientific and technical services0.8%1.6%1.8%4.0%
    Administrative and support services0.6%2.0%3.6%6.1%
    Public administration and safety0.0%10.3%0.6%8.0%
    Education and training0.4%-1.7%0.3%-0.1%
    Health care and social assistance-0.4%4.9%-0.8%9.1%
    Arts and recreation services0.4%-1.5%-0.8%0.9%
    Other services-0.5%-1.1%0.1%6.3%
    All industries0.4%1.9%0.3%2.8%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
    b. Wages estimates in some industries may include seasonal bonuses. For more information, refer to the seasonality section of Data limitations and revisions.

    Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision (presented as index values) up to the week ending 10 April 2021 are available in Table 6 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases. 

    For more information on the industry classifications used in this release, see the Glossary

    Employment size

    Recent movements in payroll jobs by employment size are subject to higher than usual levels of revision (over a longer period) than other estimates. This is particularly the case for small employers (with under 20 employees). Further information is presented on the impact of revisions on the small employers index, in Variation in revisions in Data limitations and revisions.

    The state and territory dimension of Table 6 has been removed to improve readability. The source data continue to be available in Table 7 of the Data downloads.

    Table 6 - Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size
    Change between 10 Apr 2021 and 24 Apr 2021Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 24 Apr 2021
    Under 20 employees-1.3%-0.3%
    20-199 employees0.2%-0.8%
    200 employees and over1.3%1.1%
    All businesses0.4%1.9%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.

    Data downloads

    Table 1: National spotlight

    Table 2: State and territory spotlight

    Table 3: Industry spotlight

    Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

    Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

    These estimates are updated in alternate releases, and were updated to the week ending 24 April 2021 on Wednesday 12 May 2021.

    Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

    These estimates are updated in alternate releases. They were last updated on Wednesday 28 April 2021 and will be next updated on Wednesday 26 May 2021. 

    Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

    Contains estimates of payroll jobs by employment size, including state and territory dimension. 

    Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

    Contains estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups, available in this release since 3 March 2021. 

    All data cubes

    Updated to include Table 5 as released on Wednesday 12 May 2021

    Changes in this release

    The following sections have been updated in this release:

    • National: inclusion of a summary table
    • States and territories: inclusion of a static map
    • Interactive maps: removal of section, following the end of map updates noted in the release of 13 April 2021

    Post-release changes

    12 May 2021: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes (Table 5 of the Data downloads) were updated to the week ending 24 April 2021.

    Previous articles

    Previously published articles and information of interest are linked below:

    Previous catalogue number

    This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

    Back to top of the page