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Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

Latest release

Experimental estimates of employee earnings, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period

April to September 2024

Released

20/11/2024

Key statistics

In September 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers:

increased to $103,723 million
increased by 3.9% or $3,855 million in the month from August 2024
increased by 6.3% or $6,192 million in the year from September 2023

As a measure of aggregate earnings, estimates presented in this release include compositional changes in the labour market, which are described in more detail in Factors affecting interpretation.

Industry subdivision estimates

Data download tables now include estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by industry subdivision.

Quarterly releases in 2025

The Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator release cadence has moved to quarterly from this release. Refer to Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator | Australian Bureau of Statistics for scheduled release dates.

National

Wages and salaries paid by employers, month key statistics
	Apr-24	May-24	Jun-24	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24
Month change (%)	-1.5	-0.7	0.6	0.7	1.6	3.9
Annual change (%)	6.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.1	6.3
Total wages and salaries ($m)	97,730	97,007	97,594	98,275	99,868	103,723

Estimates are presented as an original series with calendar-adjustment, to account for the differing number of days in each month, as seasonally adjusted estimates are not yet available.

Wages and salaries paid by employers(a)
	2022-23 ($m)	2023-24 ($m)	2024-25 ($m)
Jul	86,028	92,156	98,275
Aug	87,623	94,089	99,868
Sep	90,861	97,531	103,723
Oct	87,814	94,666
Nov	90,016	97,151
Dec	89,846	96,362
Jan	86,527	92,684
Feb	91,802	97,126
Mar	92,670	99,217
Apr	91,424	97,730
May	91,151	97,007
Jun	92,014	97,594

Wages and salaries paid by employers(a)

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[86027.610000000001],[87623.047000000006],[90861.168999999994],[87813.763999999996],[90015.850999999995],[89846.245999999999],[86526.899000000005],[91802.066000000006],[92669.548999999999],[91423.842000000004],[91151.138000000006],[92014.054999999993]],[[92156.025999999998],[94088.808999999994],[97530.994999999995],[94665.559999999998],[97150.668999999994],[96362.466],[92683.982000000004],[97126.190000000002],[99217.125],[97730.229000000007],[97007.370999999999],[97593.976999999999]],[[98274.885999999999],[99868.221999999994],[103723.065],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

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a. The leap year day in 2024 alters the seasonal change usually seen in February and March. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers(a)
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)	2024-25 (%)
Jul	na	0.2	0.7
Aug	1.9	2.1	1.6
Sep	3.7	3.7	3.9
Oct	-3.4	-2.9
Nov	2.5	2.6
Dec	-0.2	-0.8
Jan	-3.7	-3.8
Feb	6.1	4.8
Mar	0.9	2.2
Apr	-1.3	-1.5
May	-0.3	-0.7
Jun	0.9	0.6

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers(a)

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[null],[1.8999999999999999],[3.7000000000000002],[-3.3999999999999999],[2.5],[-0.20000000000000001],[-3.7000000000000002],[6.0999999999999996],[0.90000000000000002],[-1.3],[-0.29999999999999999],[0.90000000000000002]],[[0.20000000000000001],[2.1000000000000001],[3.7000000000000002],[-2.8999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[-0.80000000000000004],[-3.7999999999999998],[4.7999999999999998],[2.2000000000000002],[-1.5],[-0.69999999999999996],[0.59999999999999998]],[[0.69999999999999996],[1.6000000000000001],[3.8999999999999999],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

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a. The leap year day in 2024 alters the seasonal change usually seen in February and March. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Estimates of change throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded $ million values. They may differ from, though are more accurate than change calculated from rounded values.

Wages and salaries paid by employers, quarter key statistics
	Sep Qtr 23	Dec Qtr 23	Mar Qtr 24	Jun Qtr 24	Sep Qtr 24
Quarter change (%)	3.3	1.6	0.3	1.1	3.3
Annual quarter change (%)	7.3	7.7	6.7	6.5	6.4
Total wages and salaries ($m)	283,776	288,179	289,027	292,332	301,866

Quarter change in wages and salaries paid by employers
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)	2024-25 (%)
Sep Qtr	na	3.3	3.3
Dec Qtr	1.2	1.6
Mar Qtr	1.2	0.3
Jun Qtr	1.3	1.1

Quarter change in wages and salaries paid by employers

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25"]

[["Sep Qtr","Dec Qtr","Mar Qtr","Jun Qtr"],[[null],[1.2],[1.2],[1.3]],[[3.2999999999999998],[1.6000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[1.1000000000000001]],[[3.2999999999999998],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

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State and territory

In September 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in 7 of 8 states and territories from August 2024.

New South Wales saw the largest level rise of $1,276m (3.9%)
Victoria saw the largest proportional increase of 4.5% ($1,125m)

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Sep-22 (%)	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
New South Wales	4.3	4.0	3.9
Victoria	3.0	3.6	4.5
Queensland	4.0	2.9	3.9
South Australia	3.8	3.7	3.4
Western Australia	4.0	4.5	3.8
Tasmania	3.1	2.4	2.8
Northern Territory	-1.7	0.1	-1.9
Australian Capital Territory	1.9	3.1	1.6

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory

["","Sep-22","Sep-23","Sep-24"]

[["New South Wales","Victoria","Queensland","South Australia","Western Australia","Tasmania","Northern Territory","Australian Capital Territory"],[[4.2999999999999998],[3],[4],[3.7999999999999998],[4],[3.1000000000000001],[-1.7],[1.8999999999999999]],[[4],[3.6000000000000001],[2.8999999999999999],[3.7000000000000002],[4.5],[2.3999999999999999],[0.10000000000000001],[3.1000000000000001]],[[3.8999999999999999],[4.5],[3.8999999999999999],[3.3999999999999999],[3.7999999999999998],[2.7999999999999998],[-1.8999999999999999],[1.6000000000000001]]]

[]

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Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
New South Wales	-1.7	-1.2	1.1	0.0	1.6	3.9
Victoria	-1.4	-0.8	0.5	0.4	1.7	4.5
Queensland	-0.8	0.1	0.7	1.7	1.3	3.9
South Australia	-0.4	-1.1	-0.4	1.3	1.5	3.4
Western Australia	-2.7	-0.9	0.3	1.1	2.0	3.8
Tasmania	-3.6	-0.9	-0.2	0.5	1.1	2.8
Northern Territory	-0.2	0.2	0.2	1.0	5.3	-1.9
Australian Capital Territory	-1.0	0.7	-0.2	1.4	1.2	1.6
Australia	-1.5	-0.7	0.6	0.7	1.6	3.9

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
New South Wales	6.2	5.8	5.5	6.1	5.4	5.3
Victoria	5.5	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.4	6.3
Queensland	8.1	7.3	6.9	8.8	7.0	8.0
South Australia	7.0	6.4	5.7	6.4	5.9	5.6
Western Australia	9.0	8.8	8.0	7.8	7.8	7.0
Tasmania	8.2	7.4	5.8	7.2	5.5	6.0
Northern Territory	5.2	5.6	5.5	4.5	5.6	3.5
Australian Capital Territory	9.8	9.4	8.8	8.9	9.1	7.5
Australia	6.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.1	6.3

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-24 ($m)	May-24 ($m)	Jun-24 ($m)	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)
New South Wales	32,223	31,846	32,187	32,198	32,713	33,989
Victoria	24,386	24,184	24,298	24,400	24,810	25,935
Queensland	18,407	18,430	18,557	18,871	19,118	19,856
South Australia	5,702	5,640	5,617	5,689	5,776	5,973
Western Australia	11,572	11,463	11,498	11,621	11,851	12,295
Tasmania	1,664	1,648	1,645	1,653	1,672	1,719
Northern Territory	987	989	990	1,000	1,054	1,033
Australian Capital Territory	2,789	2,808	2,801	2,842	2,875	2,923
Australia	97,730	97,007	97,594	98,275	99,868	103,723

Industry

In September 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in all industries from August 2024.

Industries with monthly increases over 5% in September 2024 are influenced by cyclical bonuses around this time each year.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Sep-22 (%)	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Information media and telecommunications	15.2	16.4	14.7
Financial and insurance services	14.1	14.2	13.9
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	9.8	10.6	10.4
Retail trade	7.6	7.4	9.0
Mining	12.0	12.1	8.4
Transport, postal and warehousing	4.3	7.2	5.7
Arts and recreation services	4.5	3.9	4.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	5.3	3.2	3.8
Manufacturing	3.3	3.7	3.8
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.3	2.1	3.6
Public administration and safety	0.5	0.7	2.8
Administrative and support services	1.1	1.4	2.6
Construction	2.3	1.8	2.2
Accommodation and food services	5.3	2.5	2.2
Other services	2.3	1.7	2.0
Wholesale trade	0.9	1.6	1.7
Professional, scientific and technical services	2.8	1.8	1.7
Health care and social assistance	1.2	2.0	1.1
Education and training	-1.5	-2.1	0.1

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)

["","Sep-22","Sep-23","Sep-24"]

[["Information media and telecommunications","Financial and insurance services","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Retail trade","Mining","Transport, postal and warehousing","Arts and recreation services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Manufacturing","Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Public administration and safety","Administrative and support services","Construction","Accommodation and food services","Other services","Wholesale trade","Professional, scientific and technical services","Health care and social assistance","Education and training"],[[15.199999999999999],[14.1],[9.8000000000000007],[7.5999999999999996],[12],[4.2999999999999998],[4.5],[5.2999999999999998],[3.2999999999999998],[2.2999999999999998],[0.5],[1.1000000000000001],[2.2999999999999998],[5.2999999999999998],[2.2999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[2.7999999999999998],[1.2],[-1.5]],[[16.399999999999999],[14.199999999999999],[10.6],[7.4000000000000004],[12.1],[7.2000000000000002],[3.8999999999999999],[3.2000000000000002],[3.7000000000000002],[2.1000000000000001],[0.69999999999999996],[1.3999999999999999],[1.8],[2.5],[1.7],[1.6000000000000001],[1.8],[2],[-2.1000000000000001]],[[14.699999999999999],[13.9],[10.4],[9],[8.4000000000000004],[5.7000000000000002],[4.9000000000000004],[3.7999999999999998],[3.7999999999999998],[3.6000000000000001],[2.7999999999999998],[2.6000000000000001],[2.2000000000000002],[2.2000000000000002],[2],[1.7],[1.7],[1.1000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-4","axis_max":"18","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Industries are ranked by descending month change in September 2024.

Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	6.1	-0.6	-2.9	-0.7	3.0	3.6
Mining	-14.2	-2.7	0.4	0.0	5.9	8.4
Manufacturing	-3.0	-2.4	0.3	0.6	1.2	3.8
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-2.3	-2.5	0.4	6.5	-0.6	10.4
Construction	1.5	0.6	0.2	1.2	0.3	2.2
Wholesale trade	-4.1	-3.3	2.4	0.8	0.0	1.7
Retail trade	-0.3	-2.3	1.1	1.0	0.8	9.0
Accommodation and food services	3.4	-2.8	-0.3	3.1	1.9	2.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.4	-1.8	-0.2	0.6	1.5	5.7
Information media and telecommunications	-3.1	-1.4	3.2	-2.2	6.2	14.7
Financial and insurance services	-8.8	0.9	0.2	0.5	2.7	13.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-2.3	-0.7	1.5	0.7	1.8	3.8
Professional, scientific and technical services	-1.1	-1.3	2.3	0.1	1.1	1.7
Administrative and support services	1.1	1.2	-0.2	2.0	-0.2	2.6
Public administration and safety	-0.5	0.5	-0.4	1.6	2.0	2.8
Education and training	-0.7	1.9	-0.8	-1.6	4.4	0.1
Health care and social assistance	-0.3	-0.9	1.2	0.5	0.9	1.1
Arts and recreation services	0.3	-2.9	0.7	0.0	2.2	4.9
Other services	1.2	0.5	0.2	1.1	1.5	2.0
All industries	-1.5	-0.7	0.6	0.7	1.6	3.9

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	4.3	2.7	2.0	3.9	3.8	5.4
Mining	10.0	9.0	7.6	6.6	7.6	4.1
Manufacturing	7.1	6.3	6.2	6.4	5.9	6.0
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	15.2	12.8	12.7	17.6	13.2	13.0
Construction	7.8	7.1	6.7	8.2	7.2	7.7
Wholesale trade	4.9	4.8	5.1	6.2	5.7	5.8
Retail trade	4.7	5.8	5.4	5.9	4.6	6.1
Accommodation and food services	3.3	3.3	2.7	3.0	3.2	2.8
Transport, postal and warehousing	6.3	6.6	5.3	6.2	6.4	4.9
Information media and telecommunications	3.1	2.4	3.3	5.3	5.9	4.4
Financial and insurance services	3.5	4.4	3.7	4.3	4.6	4.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services	6.2	6.1	4.1	5.3	4.9	5.6
Professional, scientific and technical services	4.4	3.6	3.0	3.8	3.5	3.3
Administrative and support services	4.2	3.0	4.0	3.6	3.1	4.4
Public administration and safety	10.1	9.6	8.9	8.6	9.5	11.8
Education and training	9.3	7.5	7.2	7.4	4.9	7.2
Health care and social assistance	9.7	9.5	9.5	9.8	9.0	8.1
Arts and recreation services	6.0	5.5	3.9	5.4	5.4	6.4
Other services	8.2	7.4	6.8	7.7	7.8	8.1
All industries	6.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.1	6.3

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Apr-24 ($m)	May-24 ($m)	Jun-24 ($m)	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,110	1,104	1,072	1,065	1,097	1,136
Mining	3,422	3,331	3,343	3,344	3,541	3,840
Manufacturing	6,310	6,157	6,174	6,209	6,284	6,521
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,512	1,475	1,481	1,577	1,567	1,730
Construction	8,397	8,451	8,465	8,568	8,596	8,787
Wholesale trade	4,612	4,459	4,566	4,600	4,602	4,682
Retail trade	5,718	5,588	5,651	5,705	5,750	6,265
Accommodation and food services	3,503	3,406	3,395	3,499	3,566	3,644
Transport, postal and warehousing	4,109	4,034	4,026	4,050	4,112	4,346
Information media and telecommunications	2,038	2,009	2,074	2,029	2,156	2,473
Financial and insurance services	5,379	5,427	5,439	5,465	5,610	6,390
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2,008	1,994	2,023	2,037	2,074	2,154
Professional, scientific and technical services	10,673	10,534	10,774	10,784	10,898	11,079
Administrative and support services	5,823	5,893	5,883	5,998	5,985	6,143
Public administration and safety	7,784	7,825	7,790	7,917	8,077	8,302
Education and training	7,450	7,588	7,528	7,409	7,734	7,741
Health care and social assistance	14,026	13,895	14,060	14,135	14,269	14,430
Arts and recreation services	1,097	1,065	1,072	1,072	1,096	1,149
Other services	2,758	2,773	2,779	2,810	2,853	2,911
All industries	97,730	97,007	97,594	98,275	99,868	103,723

Employment size

In September 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in all employment size groups from August 2024.

Employers with 200 or more employees increased by 5.8% ($3,012m)

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Sep-22 (%)	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
0-19 employees	1.7	1.5	1.5
20-199 employees	2.1	1.8	2.0
200 employees and over	5.4	5.5	5.8

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size

["","Sep-22","Sep-23","Sep-24"]

[["0-19 employees","20-199 employees","200 employees and over"],[[1.7],[2.1000000000000001],[5.4000000000000004]],[[1.5],[1.8],[5.5]],[[1.5],[2],[5.7999999999999998]]]

[]

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Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	0-19 employees (%)	20-199 employees (%)	200 employees and over (%)
Apr-24	1.3	-1.1	-2.8
May-24	0.7	-0.9	-1.2
Jun-24	1.7	-0.1	0.5
Jul-24	-0.1	1.8	0.5
Aug-24	1.1	1.2	2.1
Sep-24	1.5	2.0	5.8

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size

["","0-19 employees","20-199 employees","200 employees and over"]

[["Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24"],[[1.3],[0.69999999999999996],[1.7],[-0.10000000000000001],[1.1000000000000001],[1.5]],[[-1.1000000000000001],[-0.90000000000000002],[-0.10000000000000001],[1.8],[1.2],[2]],[[-2.7999999999999998],[-1.2],[0.5],[0.5],[2.1000000000000001],[5.7999999999999998]]]

[]

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Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
0-19 employees	1.3	0.7	1.7	-0.1	1.1	1.5
20-199 employees	-1.1	-0.9	-0.1	1.8	1.2	2.0
200 employees and over	-2.8	-1.2	0.5	0.5	2.1	5.8
All sizes	-1.5	-0.7	0.6	0.7	1.6	3.9

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
0-19 employees	4.6	3.5	1.8	3.5	3.0	3.0
20-199 employees	6.5	6.0	5.8	6.6	6.4	6.6
200 employees and over	8.1	8.0	8.1	8.1	7.4	7.6
All sizes	6.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.1	6.3

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-24 ($m)	May-24 ($m)	Jun-24 ($m)	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)
0-19 employees	21,008	21,148	21,516	21,487	21,721	22,050
20-199 employees	25,634	25,400	25,384	25,835	26,138	26,652
200 employees and over	51,088	50,460	50,694	50,953	52,009	55,021
All sizes	97,730	97,007	97,594	98,275	99,868	103,723

Sector

In September 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in both sectors.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Sep-22 (%)	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Private	4.5	4.2	4.3
Public	0.5	1.6	2.0

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector

["","Sep-22","Sep-23","Sep-24"]

[["Private","Public"],[[4.5],[0.5]],[[4.2000000000000002],[1.6000000000000001]],[[4.2999999999999998],[2]]]

[]

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Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Private (%)	Public (%)
Apr-24	-1.5	-1.6
May-24	-1.1	0.6
Jun-24	1.0	-0.9
Jul-24	0.3	2.1
Aug-24	1.5	2.1
Sep-24	4.3	2.0

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector

["","Private","Public"]

[["Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24"],[[-1.5],[-1.1000000000000001],[1],[0.29999999999999999],[1.5],[4.2999999999999998]],[[-1.6000000000000001],[0.59999999999999998],[-0.90000000000000002],[2.1000000000000001],[2.1000000000000001],[2]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Private	-1.5	-1.1	1.0	0.3	1.5	4.3
Public	-1.6	0.6	-0.9	2.1	2.1	2.0
All sectors	-1.5	-0.7	0.6	0.7	1.6	3.9

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-24 (%)	May-24 (%)	Jun-24 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)
Private	6.6	6.1	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.8
Public	8.3	7.5	6.7	9.3	8.0	8.4
All sectors	6.9	6.4	6.1	6.6	6.1	6.3

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-24 ($m)	May-24 ($m)	Jun-24 ($m)	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)
Private	78,003	77,152	77,924	78,185	79,356	82,808
Public	19,728	19,856	19,670	20,090	20,512	20,915
All sectors	97,730	97,007	97,594	98,275	99,868	103,723

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

From this release, includes estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by industry subdivision.

Data files

Download xlsx [6.35 MB]

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

From this release, includes estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by industry subdivision.

Data files

Download xlsx [3.28 MB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [1.64 MB]

Changes in this release

In this release, the following sections were updated within the Methodology:

How the data is transformed. New subsection within Creation of aggregates, Aggregate adjustment.
Factors affecting interpretation. Additional text regarding updated data transformations within Revisions.

Methodology

Scope

This release presents experimental estimates of wages and salaries paid by active employing businesses and organisations to their employees in the Australian economy.

Geography

Data is available for:

Australia total
States and territories

Source

Australian Tax Office (ATO) Single Touch Payroll (STP) administrative data combined with ABS Business Register data.

Collection method

The ATO provides selected employer and employee level data from the STP system to the ABS. These data are combined with employer population and characteristics data from quarterly ABS Business Register snapshots.

Concepts, sources and methods

Wages and salaries are gross values (prior to taxation and deductions) and include wages, salary payments and allowances paid through Australian payrolls.

Employee superannuation and severance and termination payments are excluded.

History of changes

Refined imputation method included in 21 May 2024 release.

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APA

Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

APA

Key statistics

Industry subdivision estimates

Quarterly releases in 2025

National

State and territory

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Industry

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Employment size

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Sector

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

All data cubes

Changes in this release

Methodology

Scope

Geography

Source

Collection method

Concepts, sources and methods

History of changes

Media releases

Total monthly wages and salaries exceed $100 billion

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