Employee earnings

Latest release

Weekly earnings of employees, including distribution of earnings and hourly earnings, by State, Occupation, Industry and Qualifications

Reference period

August 2024

Released

9/12/2024

Next release Unknown

Key statistics

In August 2024:

Median employee earnings in main job was $1,396 per week, up $96 (7.4%) since August 2023.
Median hourly earnings in main job was $40.00 per hour, up $0.30 since August 2023.

Statistics from the Characteristics of Employment survey are also published in three other topic-based releases:

Median weekly earnings in main job
	Aug-24	Aug-23	Aug-19	Aug-23 to Aug-24 (% change)
Employees
Males	$1,577	$1,500	$1,280	5.1%
Females	$1,200	$1,150	$950	4.3%
Persons	$1,396	$1,300	$1,100	7.4%
Full-time employees
Males	$1,789	$1,700	$1,473	5.2%
Females	$1,598	$1,500	$1,250	6.5%
Persons	$1,700	$1,600	$1,375	6.3%

Earnings guide

To learn more about the earnings data collected by the ABS, refer to our Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Earnings data.

Weekly earnings

In August 2024, median weekly earnings for employees was $1,396, up $96 from $1,300 in August 2023. Median weekly earnings has increased at a faster rate for women than men over the past 5 years, in part because the proportion of women working full-time has increased.

Median weekly earnings in main job, by sex and full-time or part-time status
	Females full-time ($)	Males full-time ($)	Females part-time ($)	Males part-time ($)
1976	126	159	65	49
1977	142	174	69	45
1978	154	192	76	68
1979	164	205	82	64
1980	182	224	89	68
1981	206	252	100	78
1982	232	293	109	93
1983	249	308	113	103
1984	270	332	123	103
1985	287	357	136	108
1986	310	382	142	99
1987	330	405	154	100
1988	350	431	159	107
1989	380	460	180	100
1990	420	500	180	100
1991	430	512	189	143
1992	460	540	180	100
1993	460	540	180	140
1994	500	580	220	140
1995	500	580	220	140
1996
1997	550	650	225	150
1998	560	651	230	150
1999	600	700	242	160
2000	615	738	250	176
2001	650	750	260	176
2002	673	800	275	188
2003	700	805	290	225
2004	729	850	315	240
2005	760	900	325	250
2006	800	950	340	274
2007	846	1,000	360	299
2008	900	1,025	380	286
2009	917	1,096	400	300
2010	962	1,134	400	320
2011	1,000	1,194	429	350
2012	1,040	1,200	450	360
2013	1,035	1,250	455	361
2014	1,100	1,302	498	400
2015	1,125	1,300	500	400
2016	1,150	1,333	503	416
2017	1,191	1,361	535	427
2018	1,235	1,425	550	460
2019	1,250	1,473	574	500
2020	1,342	1,500	708	550
2021	1,374	1,538	613	520
2022	1,438	1,600	650	542
2023	1,500	1,700	700	600
2024	1,598	1,789	703	623

Median weekly earnings in main job, by sex and full-time or part-time status

["","Females full-time","Males full-time","Females part-time","Males part-time"]

[["1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"],[[126],[142],[154],[164],[182],[206],[232],[249],[270],[287],[310],[330],[350],[380],[420],[430],[460],[460],[500],[500],[null],[550],[560],[600],[615],[650],[673],[700],[729],[760],[800],[846],[900],[917],[962],[1000],[1040],[1035],[1100],[1125],[1150],[1191],[1235],[1250],[1342],[1374],[1438],[1500],[1598]],[[159],[174],[192],[205],[224],[252],[293],[308],[332],[357],[382],[405],[431],[460],[500],[512],[540],[540],[580],[580],[null],[650],[651],[700],[738],[750],[800],[805],[850],[900],[950],[1000],[1025],[1096],[1134],[1194],[1200],[1250],[1302],[1300],[1333],[1361],[1425],[1473],[1500],[1538],[1600],[1700],[1789]],[[65],[69],[76],[82],[89],[100],[109],[113],[123],[136],[142],[154],[159],[180],[180],[189],[180],[180],[220],[220],[null],[225],[230],[242],[250],[260],[275],[290],[315],[325],[340],[360],[380],[400],[400],[429],[450],[455],[498],[500],[503],[535],[550],[574],[708],[613],[650],[700],[703]],[[49],[45],[68],[64],[68],[78],[93],[103],[103],[108],[99],[100],[107],[100],[100],[143],[100],[140],[140],[140],[null],[150],[150],[160],[176],[176],[188],[225],[240],[250],[274],[299],[286],[300],[320],[350],[360],[361],[400],[400],[416],[427],[460],[500],[550],[520],[542],[600],[623]]]

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Hourly earnings

In August 2024, the median hourly earnings for employees was $40.00, up from $39.70 in August 2023. For men, the median hourly earnings rose 90 cents to $41.70 in August 2024, while for women the median hourly earnings rose 50 cents to $38.90.

Median hourly earnings in main job
	Aug-24	Aug-23	Aug-19	Aug-23 to Aug-24 (% change)
Males	$41.70	$40.80	$34.30	2.2%
Females	$38.90	$38.40	$31.30	1.4%
Persons	$40.00	$39.70	$32.50	0.7%

Distribution of earnings

In August 2024:

25% of employees earned less than $895 per week in their main job (25th percentile).
50% of employees earned less than $1,396 (50th percentile/median).
75% of employees earned less than $2,052 (75th percentile).
90% of employees earned less than $3,038 (90th percentile).

Earnings for all percentiles increased. The largest increase was seen in the 25th percentile, increasing by 9.1% since August 2023. The percentile with the lowest growth was the bottom 75th percentile, increasing 3.3% since August 2023.

Distribution of weekly earnings in main job
	Aug-24	Aug-23	Aug-19	Aug-23 to Aug-24 (% change)
10th Percentile	$440	$412	$350	6.8%
25th Percentile	$895	$820	$700	9.1%
50th Percentile	$1,396	$1,300	$1,100	7.4%
75th Percentile	$2,052	$1,987	$1,657	3.3%
90th Percentile	$3,038	$2,846	$2,419	6.7%

Weekly earnings distribution in main job
	Difference between Aug-24 and Aug-20 ('000)	Aug-20 ('000)	Aug-21 ('000)	Aug-22 ('000)	Aug-23 ('000)	Aug-24 ('000)
$0 to $99	-20.4	187.1	212.8	198.3	211.3	166.7
$100 to $199	62.1	256.6	299.3	296.7	299.9	318.7
$200 to $299	30.3	244.5	261.7	275.3	271.3	274.8
$300 to $399	30.9	270.3	322.1	320.7	297.0	301.2
$400 to $499	-4.6	320.4	397.9	360.7	348.7	315.9
$500 to $599	-28.4	373.5	403.5	413.8	368.7	345.1
$600 to $699	10.0	422.8	434.6	464.4	457.8	432.8
$700 to $799	-475.7	896.9	484.0	479.4	467.4	421.2
$800 to $899	-105.5	566.9	541.9	517.7	467.5	461.4
$900 to $999	5.5	585.1	580.5	597.4	565.0	590.6
$1000 to $1099	-10.0	662.6	675.0	741.5	704.7	652.7
$1100 to $1199	41.5	535.1	558.8	602.8	593.7	576.6
$1200 to $1299	109.3	576.6	613.8	644.6	682.3	685.9
$1300 to $1399	111.7	407.0	456.2	499.2	510.3	518.8
$1400 to $1499	98.3	381.9	403.6	473.4	470.7	480.1
$1500 to $1599	156.7	460.3	461.6	513.3	575.1	617.0
$1600 to $1699	129.3	320.4	339.8	381.7	411.2	449.7
$1700 to $1799	134.5	323.2	320.3	358.6	416.3	457.7
$1800 to $1899	71.9	262.3	278.3	261.1	320.2	334.2
$1900 to $1999	126.4	212.3	230.6	258.5	308.4	338.8
$2000 to $2099	130.3	275.2	303.5	330.0	356.8	405.5
$2100 to $2199	64.8	183.7	173.0	223.9	228.9	248.5
$2200 to $2299	80.2	156.6	162.4	185.8	204.4	236.8
$2300 to $2399	46.4	164.0	177.1	239.4	235.8	210.5
$2400 to $2499	78.1	100.0	121.9	154.6	190.9	178.1
$2500 to $2599	113.1	144.0	138.5	182.0	183.3	257.1
$2600 to $2699	56.3	73.4	97.6	111.9	127.1	129.7
$2700 to $2799	82.8	84.3	84.0	100.2	135.0	167.1
$2800 to $2899	44.9	72.9	84.1	103.7	134.5	117.8
$2900 to $2999	41.6	51.9	62.3	71.5	79.1	93.5
$3000 to $3099	61.2	79.6	91.0	92.8	116.9	140.7
$3100 to $3199	39.0	30.9	40.3	45.6	62.4	70.0
$3200 to $3299	45.0	50.0	55.6	57.6	79.9	95.1
$3300 to $3399	35.9	31.1	35.5	39.8	44.2	67.0
$3400 to $3499	21.3	48.2	58.7	52.9	78.0	69.5
$3500 to $3599	39.8	30.6	44.8	51.0	53.0	70.4
$3600 to $3699	33.3	28.4	29.9	42.4	48.1	61.8

Weekly earnings distribution in main job

["","Difference between Aug-24 and Aug-20","Aug-20","Aug-21","Aug-22","Aug-23","Aug-24"]

[["$0 to $99","$100 to $199","$200 to $299","$300 to $399","$400 to $499","$500 to $599","$600 to $699","$700 to $799","$800 to $899","$900 to $999","$1000 to $1099","$1100 to $1199","$1200 to $1299","$1300 to $1399","$1400 to $1499","$1500 to $1599","$1600 to $1699","$1700 to $1799","$1800 to $1899","$1900 to $1999","$2000 to $2099","$2100 to $2199","$2200 to $2299","$2300 to $2399","$2400 to $2499","$2500 to $2599","$2600 to $2699","$2700 to $2799","$2800 to $2899","$2900 to $2999","$3000 to $3099","$3100 to $3199","$3200 to $3299","$3300 to $3399","$3400 to $3499","$3500 to $3599","$3600 to $3699"],[[-20.399999999999999],[62.100000000000001],[30.300000000000001],[30.899999999999999],[-4.5999999999999996],[-28.399999999999999],[10],[-475.69999999999999],[-105.5],[5.5],[-10],[41.5],[109.3],[111.7],[98.299999999999997],[156.69999999999999],[129.30000000000001],[134.5],[71.900000000000006],[126.40000000000001],[130.30000000000001],[64.799999999999997],[80.200000000000003],[46.399999999999999],[78.099999999999994],[113.09999999999999],[56.299999999999997],[82.799999999999997],[44.899999999999999],[41.600000000000001],[61.200000000000003],[39],[45],[35.899999999999999],[21.300000000000001],[39.799999999999997],[33.299999999999997]],[[187.09999999999999],[256.60000000000002],[244.5],[270.30000000000001],[320.39999999999998],[373.5],[422.80000000000001],[896.89999999999998],[566.89999999999998],[585.10000000000002],[662.60000000000002],[535.10000000000002],[576.60000000000002],[407],[381.89999999999998],[460.30000000000001],[320.39999999999998],[323.19999999999999],[262.30000000000001],[212.30000000000001],[275.19999999999999],[183.69999999999999],[156.59999999999999],[164],[100],[144],[73.400000000000006],[84.299999999999997],[72.900000000000006],[51.899999999999999],[79.599999999999994],[30.899999999999999],[50],[31.100000000000001],[48.200000000000003],[30.600000000000001],[28.399999999999999]],[[212.80000000000001],[299.30000000000001],[261.69999999999999],[322.10000000000002],[397.89999999999998],[403.5],[434.60000000000002],[484],[541.89999999999998],[580.5],[675],[558.79999999999995],[613.79999999999995],[456.19999999999999],[403.60000000000002],[461.60000000000002],[339.80000000000001],[320.30000000000001],[278.30000000000001],[230.59999999999999],[303.5],[173],[162.40000000000001],[177.09999999999999],[121.90000000000001],[138.5],[97.599999999999994],[84],[84.099999999999994],[62.299999999999997],[91],[40.299999999999997],[55.600000000000001],[35.5],[58.700000000000003],[44.799999999999997],[29.899999999999999]],[[198.30000000000001],[296.69999999999999],[275.30000000000001],[320.69999999999999],[360.69999999999999],[413.80000000000001],[464.39999999999998],[479.39999999999998],[517.70000000000005],[597.39999999999998],[741.5],[602.79999999999995],[644.60000000000002],[499.19999999999999],[473.39999999999998],[513.29999999999995],[381.69999999999999],[358.60000000000002],[261.10000000000002],[258.5],[330],[223.90000000000001],[185.80000000000001],[239.40000000000001],[154.59999999999999],[182],[111.90000000000001],[100.2],[103.7],[71.5],[92.799999999999997],[45.600000000000001],[57.600000000000001],[39.799999999999997],[52.899999999999999],[51],[42.399999999999999]],[[211.30000000000001],[299.89999999999998],[271.30000000000001],[297],[348.69999999999999],[368.69999999999999],[457.80000000000001],[467.39999999999998],[467.5],[565],[704.70000000000005],[593.70000000000005],[682.29999999999995],[510.30000000000001],[470.69999999999999],[575.10000000000002],[411.19999999999999],[416.30000000000001],[320.19999999999999],[308.39999999999998],[356.80000000000001],[228.90000000000001],[204.40000000000001],[235.80000000000001],[190.90000000000001],[183.30000000000001],[127.09999999999999],[135],[134.5],[79.099999999999994],[116.90000000000001],[62.399999999999999],[79.900000000000006],[44.200000000000003],[78],[53],[48.100000000000001]],[[166.69999999999999],[318.69999999999999],[274.80000000000001],[301.19999999999999],[315.89999999999998],[345.10000000000002],[432.80000000000001],[421.19999999999999],[461.39999999999998],[590.60000000000002],[652.70000000000005],[576.60000000000002],[685.89999999999998],[518.79999999999995],[480.10000000000002],[617],[449.69999999999999],[457.69999999999999],[334.19999999999999],[338.80000000000001],[405.5],[248.5],[236.80000000000001],[210.5],[178.09999999999999],[257.10000000000002],[129.69999999999999],[167.09999999999999],[117.8],[93.5],[140.69999999999999],[70],[95.099999999999994],[67],[69.5],[70.400000000000006],[61.799999999999997]]]

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Note: In August 2020 there was a larger number of people than usual earning around $750 per week, which was the amount of the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - August 1989 to August 2024
	Aug-89 ('000)	Aug-94 ('000)	Aug-99 ('000)	Aug-04 ('000)	Aug-09 ('000)	Aug-14 ('000)	Aug-19 ('000)	Aug-24 ('000)
$0 to $199	1,004.5	853.7	802.8	787.1	696.5	577.4	534.3	485.5
$200 to $399	2,238.1	1,396.6	1,017.8	904.3	811.2	713.6	665.9	576.2
$400 to $599	1,890.2	2,060.6	1,653.3	1,410.7	1,025.8	887.2	869.7	661.0
$600 to $799	756.6	1,078.8	1,271.6	1,584.3	1,499.5	1,142.1	1,047.4	853.9
$800 to $999	170.6	494.5	783.5	1,019.8	1,322.0	1,340.4	1,284.9	1,051.8
$1000 to $1199	71.4	220.6	395.6	740.8	999.3	1,128.0	1,312.9	1,229.1
$1200 to $1399	30.4	54.8	178.7	415.7	759.8	895.2	1,048.4	1,204.9
$1400 to $1599	12.0	27.5	100.7	221.1	505.3	670.9	831.8	1,097.3
$1600 to $1799	9.3	18.5	62.0	130.7	341.9	486.7	617.9	907.8
$1800 to $1999	5.8	10.4	30.6	85.6	184.4	327.4	450.7	673.3
$2000 to $2199	3.8	5.3	28.3	65.1	160.8	295.3	415.6	654.0
$2200 to $2399	1.9	3.4	18.6	41.8	117.5	196.2	274.7	447.4
$2400 to $2599	1.3	2.6	9.5	38.0	67.8	163.5	237.4	435.3
$2600 to $2799	0.4	3.5	7.2	11.9	49.3	90.6	149.5	296.8
$2800 to $2999	0.3	3.3	4.8	14.4	37.8	82.9	112.6	211.4
$3000 to $3199	0.0	0.9	2.0	16.7	31.8	66.2	84.8	210.8
$3200 to $3399	0.0	0.4	2.4	6.3	26.0	44.9	67.0	162.1
$3400 to $3599	0.5	0.4	1.5	7.2	21.8	44.0	75.4	140.0
$3600 to $3799	0.4	0.8	1.9	2.8	14.5	26.6	47.3	96.3

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - August 1989 to August 2024

["","Aug-89","Aug-94","Aug-99","Aug-04","Aug-09","Aug-14","Aug-19","Aug-24"]

[["$0 to $199","$200 to $399","$400 to $599","$600 to $799","$800 to $999","$1000 to $1199","$1200 to $1399","$1400 to $1599","$1600 to $1799","$1800 to $1999","$2000 to $2199","$2200 to $2399","$2400 to $2599","$2600 to $2799","$2800 to $2999","$3000 to $3199","$3200 to $3399","$3400 to $3599","$3600 to $3799"],[[1004.5],[2238.0999999999999],[1890.2],[756.60000000000002],[170.59999999999999],[71.400000000000006],[30.399999999999999],[12],[9.3000000000000007],[5.7999999999999998],[3.7999999999999998],[1.8999999999999999],[1.3],[0.40000000000000002],[0.29999999999999999],[0],[0],[0.5],[0.40000000000000002]],[[853.70000000000005],[1396.5999999999999],[2060.5999999999999],[1078.8],[494.5],[220.59999999999999],[54.799999999999997],[27.5],[18.5],[10.4],[5.2999999999999998],[3.3999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[3.5],[3.2999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004]],[[802.79999999999995],[1017.8],[1653.3],[1271.5999999999999],[783.5],[395.60000000000002],[178.69999999999999],[100.7],[62],[30.600000000000001],[28.300000000000001],[18.600000000000001],[9.5],[7.2000000000000002],[4.7999999999999998],[2],[2.3999999999999999],[1.5],[1.8999999999999999]],[[787.10000000000002],[904.29999999999995],[1410.7],[1584.3],[1019.8],[740.79999999999995],[415.69999999999999],[221.09999999999999],[130.69999999999999],[85.599999999999994],[65.099999999999994],[41.799999999999997],[38],[11.9],[14.4],[16.699999999999999],[6.2999999999999998],[7.2000000000000002],[2.7999999999999998]],[[696.5],[811.20000000000005],[1025.8],[1499.5],[1322],[999.29999999999995],[759.79999999999995],[505.30000000000001],[341.89999999999998],[184.40000000000001],[160.80000000000001],[117.5],[67.799999999999997],[49.299999999999997],[37.799999999999997],[31.800000000000001],[26],[21.800000000000001],[14.5]],[[577.35000000000002],[713.54999999999995],[887.22000000000003],[1142.1300000000001],[1340.4400000000001],[1128.02],[895.17999999999995],[670.87],[486.70999999999998],[327.44],[295.29000000000002],[196.19999999999999],[163.49000000000001],[90.620000000000005],[82.870000000000005],[66.180000000000007],[44.939999999999998],[43.969999999999999],[26.609999999999999]],[[534.32000000000005],[665.94000000000005],[869.70000000000005],[1047.4200000000001],[1284.9100000000001],[1312.9100000000001],[1048.4100000000001],[831.83000000000004],[617.86000000000001],[450.64999999999998],[415.62],[274.72000000000003],[237.34999999999999],[149.47999999999999],[112.56999999999999],[84.799999999999997],[67.030000000000001],[75.370000000000005],[47.270000000000003]],[[485.44999999999999],[576.17999999999995],[661],[853.89999999999998],[1051.8299999999999],[1229.0599999999999],[1204.9200000000001],[1097.25],[907.75999999999999],[673.25],[653.97000000000003],[447.37],[435.33999999999997],[296.81999999999999],[211.38999999999999],[210.75999999999999],[162.06],[140.03999999999999],[96.290000000000006]]]

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States and territories

The state or territory with the highest median weekly earnings in August 2024 was the Australian Capital Territory at $1,688 per week, followed by the Northern Territory and Western Australia (both $1,500). The lowest were Tasmania ($1,208 per week), South Australia ($1,250) and Queensland ($1,350).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by state and territory
	Aug-19 ($)	Aug-24 ($)
Australian Capital Territory	1,300	1,688
Western Australia	1,200	1,500
Northern Territory	1,200	1,500
Victoria	1,073	1,400
New South Wales	1,150	1,387
Queensland	1,057	1,350
South Australia	1,014	1,250
Tasmania	1,000	1,208

Median weekly earnings in main job, by state and territory

["","Aug-19","Aug-24"]

[["Australian Capital Territory","Western Australia","Northern Territory","Victoria","New South Wales","Queensland","South Australia","Tasmania"],[[1300],[1200],[1200],[1073],[1150],[1057],[1014],[1000]],[[1688],[1500],[1500],[1400],[1387],[1350],[1250],[1208]]]

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Of the state capital cities, Perth had the highest median weekly earnings ($1,500 per week), followed by Melbourne ($1,450) and Sydney ($1,416).

Outside the capital cities, the highest median weekly earnings were in regional Western Australia ($1,442 per week), and the lowest was regional South Australia ($1,100).

Occupation

In August 2024, the occupation groups with highest median weekly earnings were Managers ($2,100 per week) and Professionals ($1,827). The lowest were Sales workers ($714) and Labourers ($900).

Managers and Professionals also had the highest hourly rates ($56.20 and $53.90), while Sales workers and Labourers had the lowest hourly rates (both $30.00). The gap between the median hourly rates for occupation groups is smaller than for the total weekly earnings measure, partly due to the difference in hours typically worked for each occupation.

Median hourly earnings in main job, by occupation and skill level
	Aug-19 ($)	Aug-24 ($)
Managers	47.20	56.20
Professionals	46.00	53.90
Clerical and Administrative Workers	31.90	39.00
Technicians and Trades Workers	30.30	37.50
Machinery Operators and Drivers	29.60	35.00
Community and Personal Service Workers	28.00	33.90
Sales Workers	25.00	30.00
Labourers	25.00	30.00

Skill Level 1	47.50	55.70
Skill Level 2	34.70	41.70
Skill Level 3	30.00	35.70
Skill Level 4	29.50	35.10
Skill Level 5	24.20	29.10

Median hourly earnings in main job, by occupation and skill level

["","Aug-19","Aug-24"]

[["Managers","Professionals","Clerical and Administrative Workers","Technicians and Trades Workers","Machinery Operators and Drivers","Community and Personal Service Workers","Sales Workers","Labourers","","Skill Level 1","Skill Level 2","Skill Level 3","Skill Level 4","Skill Level 5"],[[47.200000000000003],[46],[31.899999999999999],[30.300000000000001],[29.600000000000001],[28],[25],[25],[null],[47.5],[34.700000000000003],[30],[29.5],[24.199999999999999]],[[56.200000000000003],[53.899999999999999],[39],[37.5],[35],[33.899999999999999],[30],[30],[null],[55.700000000000003],[41.700000000000003],[35.700000000000003],[35.100000000000001],[29.100000000000001]]]

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1. Data is coded to ANZSCO ver 1.2. For more information on Occupations and Skill level, refer to ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

The sub-major occupation groups with the highest median weekly earnings in August 2024 were:

Chief Executives, General Managers and Legislators - $2,669.
Specialist Managers - $2,400.
ICT Professionals - $2,284.

The sub-major groups with the lowest median weekly earnings in August 2024 were:

Food Preparation Assistants - $368.
Sales Support Workers - $600.
Sales Assistants and Salespersons - $600.
Hospitality Workers - $600.

Between 2019 and 2024, the sub-major group with the highest average growth in median weekly earnings was Sports and Personal Service Workers (7.6% p.a.).

Industry

In August 2024, the industries with the highest median weekly earnings were:

Mining ($2,593 per week, up from $2,400 in August 2023).
Electricity, gas, water and waste services ($1,895, down from $1,900).
Professional, scientific and technical services ($1,841, up from $1,730).

The industries with the lowest median weekly earnings were:

Accommodation and food services ($650 per week, up from $640 in August 2023).
Retail trade ($893, up from $876).
Arts and recreation services ($1,000, up from $908).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by industry
	Aug-19 ($)	Aug-24 ($)
Mining	2,301	2,593
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,600	1,895
Professional, scientific and technical services	1,455	1,841
Financial and insurance services	1,503	1,750
Public administration and safety	1,498	1,750
Information Media and telecommunications	1,349	1,615
Wholesale trade	1,150	1,518
Construction	1,290	1,500
Transport, postal and warehousing	1,238	1,500
Education and training	1,200	1,500
Manufacturing	1,127	1,400
Rental, hiring and real estate services	1,108	1,400
Administrative and support services	950	1,263
Health care and social assistance	1,000	1,240
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,043	1,200
Other services	961	1,200
Arts and recreation services	898	1,000
Retail trade	704	893
Accommodation and food services	500	650

Median weekly earnings in main job, by industry

["","Aug-19","Aug-24"]

[["Mining","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Professional, scientific and technical services","Financial and insurance services","Public administration and safety","Information Media and telecommunications","Wholesale trade","Construction","Transport, postal and warehousing","Education and training","Manufacturing","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Administrative and support services","Health care and social assistance","Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Other services","Arts and recreation services","Retail trade","Accommodation and food services"],[[2301],[1600],[1455],[1503],[1498],[1349],[1150],[1290],[1238],[1200],[1127],[1108],[950],[1000],[1043],[961],[898],[704],[500]],[[2593],[1895],[1841],[1750],[1750],[1615],[1518],[1500],[1500],[1500],[1400],[1400],[1263],[1240],[1200],[1200],[1000],[893],[650]]]

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1. For more information on Industries, refer to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)

Educational qualifications

In August 2024, median weekly earners were highest amongst employees with a postgraduate degree ($1,925 per week), and were lowest for those without non-school qualifications ($1,000).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by highest educational qualification
	Aug-19 ($)	Aug-24 ($)
Postgraduate Degree	1,610	1,925
Graduate Diploma/Graduate Certificate	1,500	1,749
Bachelor Degree	1,346	1,632
Advanced Diploma/Diploma	1,150	1,400
Certificate III/IV	1,150	1,400
Certificate I/II and Other	1,000	1,299
No Non-School Qualifications	825	1,000

Median weekly earnings in main job, by highest educational qualification

["","Aug-19","Aug-24"]

[["Postgraduate Degree","Graduate Diploma\/Graduate Certificate","Bachelor Degree","Advanced Diploma\/Diploma","Certificate III\/IV","Certificate I\/II and Other","No Non-School Qualifications"],[[1610],[1500],[1346],[1150],[1150],[1000],[825]],[[1925],[1749],[1632],[1400],[1400],[1299],[1000]]]

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1. For more information on educational attainment, refer to Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

Multiple job-holders

The best source of data on the incidence of multiple job-holding, and the characteristics of multiple-job-holders, is the quarterly Multiple job-holders release.

In August 2024, there were 427,000 employees who were multiple job holders. Of those who received employee earnings in both their main and second jobs:

median weekly earnings from their main job was $1,000 per week
median weekly earnings from their second job was $324 per week

In comparison, median weekly earnings for single job-holders was $1,400 per week.

Of the 3.8 million people who earned less than $1000 per week in their main job, 7.1% (268,200) had a second job. For people who earned $1000 or more per week, 4.1% had a second job.

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