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Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

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Experimental weekly estimates on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on employee jobs and wages, sourced from Single Touch Payroll data

Reference period
Week ending 4 April 2020
Released
21/04/2020

Key statistics

Between the week ending 14 March 2020 (the week Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case) and the week ending 4 April 2020:

  • Employee jobs decreased by 6.0%; and
  • Total wages paid decreased by 6.7%.

Key findings

Between the week ending 28 March 2020 and the week ending 4 April 2020:

  • Employee jobs decreased by 5.5%, compared to a decrease of 0.5% in the previous week
  • Total wages paid decreased by 5.1%, compared to a decrease of 1.3% in the previous week

Jobs and wages by state and territory

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 (the week Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case), the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Tasmania decreased by 7.3% and Victoria decreased by 6.8%
  • Total wages: Northern Territory decreased by 17.6% and Victoria decreased by 8.8%
     

Between the week ending 28 March 2020 and the week ending 4 April 2020, the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Victoria decreased by 6.0%, and Tasmania and New South Wales both decreased by 5.7%
  • Total wages: Victoria decreased by 6.3% and the Northern Territory decreased by 6.1%
     

Table 1 - Percentage changes by states and territories

 Change in employee jobs between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in employee jobs between 14 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 14 March and 4 April
NSW-5.7%-6.4%-5.7%-6.1%
Vic.-6.0%-6.8%-6.3%-8.8%
Qld-4.6%-5.0%-3.4%-5.6%
SA-5.3%-5.2%-2.2%-2.2%
WA-5.6%-5.2%-4.8%-6.3%
Tas.-5.7%-7.3%-5.7%-7.5%
NT-5.4%-4.8%-6.1%-17.6%
ACT-4.8%-5.5%-5.3%-5.7%
Australia-5.5%-6.0%-5.1%-6.7%

Jobs and wages by sex

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 (the week Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case):

  • Employee jobs: Those worked by females decreased by 5.9% and those worked by males decreased by 5.8%
  • Total wages: Payments to females decreased by 7.0% and payments to males decreased by 6.4%
     

Between the week ending 28 March 2020 and the week ending 4 April 2020:

  • Employee jobs: Those worked by females decreased by 5.7% and those worked by males decreased by 5.1%
  • Total wages: Payments to males and females both decreased by 5.1%
     

Table 2 - Changes by sex

 Change in employee jobs between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in employee jobs between 14 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 14 March and 4 April
Males-5.1%-5.8%-5.1%-6.4%
Females-5.7%-5.9%-5.1%-7.0%
All persons-5.5%-6.0%-5.1%-6.7%

Jobs and wages by age group

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 (the week Australia recorded it 100th confirmed COVID-19 case), the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Those worked by people aged under 20 decreased by 9.9% and those worked by people aged 70 and over decreased by 9.7%
  • Total wages: Payments to people aged under 20 decreased by 12.7% and payments to people aged 20-29 decreased by 9.1%
     

Between the week ending 28 March 2020 and the week ending 4 April 2020, the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Those worked by people aged 70 and over decreased by 8.5% and those worked by people aged under 20 decreased by 8.1%
  • Total wages: Payments to people aged 70 and over decreased by 8.7% and payments to people aged under 20 decreased by 6.8%
     

Table 3 - Changes by age group

 Change in employee jobs between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in employee jobs between 14 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 14 March and 4 April
Aged under 20-8.1%-9.9%-6.8%-12.7%
20-29 years olds-7.5%-8.8%-6.0%-9.1%
30-39 years olds-5.2%-5.5%-5.3%-6.5%
40-49 years olds-4.3%-4.3%-5.0%-6.2%
50-59 years olds-3.8%-3.8%-4.1%-5.5%
60-69 years olds-4.0%-4.0%-3.8%-5.7%
70 years and over-8.5%-9.7%-8.7%-6.3%
All persons-5.5%-6.0%-5.1%-6.7%

Jobs and wages by industry

Between the week ending 14 March 2020 (the week Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case) and the week ending 4 April 2020, the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Accommodation and food services decrease by 25.6% and Arts and recreation services decreased by 18.7%
  • Total wages: Accommodation and food services decreased by 30.1% and Arts and recreation services decreased by 15.7%
     

Between the week ending 28 March 2020 and the week ending 4 April 2020, the largest changes were:

  • Employee jobs: Accommodation and food services decreased by 18.9% and Arts and recreation services decreased by 13.1%
  • Total wages: Accommodation and food services decreased by 17.7% and Professional, scientific and technical services decreased by 9.7%
     

Table 4 - Changes by industry

 Change in employee jobs between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in employee jobs between 14 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 28 March and 4 AprilChange in total wages between 14 March and 4 April
Agriculture, forestry and fishing-5.6%-4.8%-6.4%-3.5%
Mining-8.1%-8.4%-8.1%-9.5%
Manufacturing-3.3%-4.3%-1.1%-5.9%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services-1.3%-1.1%0.1%-1.9%
Construction-4.0%-5.3%-4.3%-3.6%
Wholesale trade-4.4%-4.6%0.5%-0.2%
Retail trade-4.1%-2.7%-3.5%-7.6%
Accommodation and food services-18.9%-25.6%-17.7%-30.1%
Transport, postal and warehousing-2.2%-3.0%-3.4%-5.2%
Information media and telecommunications-5.9%-6.8%-6.6%-7.3%
Financial and insurance services-3.2%-3.2%-8.9%-7.8%
Rental, hiring and real estate services-6.9%-8.0%-7.7%-8.5%
Professional, scientific and technical services-7.1%-7.9%-9.7%-8.4%
Administrative and support services-7.0%-7.5%-5.9%-5.8%
Public administration and safety-2.6%-3.0%-2.2%-4.9%
Education and training-1.7%-0.1%-3.6%-0.7%
Health care and social assistance-4.7%-2.5%-4.7%-8.0%
Arts and recreation services-13.1%-18.7%-9.1%-15.7%
Other services-7.0%-7.6%-3.7%-4.5%
All industries-5.5%-6.0%-5.1%-6.7%

 

Data downloads

I-note

Table 1: National spotlight

Table 2: State and territory spotlight

Table 3: Industry spotlight

Table 4: Employee jobs and wages indices

History of changes

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