Public sector employment and earnings

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Contains estimates of public sector employees and cash wages and salaries by level of government, state and industry

Reference period

2022-23 financial year

Released

9/11/2023

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Key statistics

There were 2,430,400 public sector employees in the month of June 2023 comprising:

350,300 employees in Commonwealth government (including defence force personnel);
1,871,900 in state government; and
208,200 in local government.

Total public sector cash wages and salaries in 2022-23 was $214,987.5 million.

New data source

Single touch payroll source

This is the first release of the Public Sector Employment and Earnings (PSEE). The PSEE estimates are compiled using Single Touch Payroll (STP) data sourced from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The PSEE replaces the Survey of Employment and Earnings (SEE), which was collected directly from businesses/organisations as a sampled survey. The new PSEE series starts with the 2021-22 financial year.

Although similar, there are some key differences between these two collections, which are summarised in Data source comparison, SEE & PSEE, below. In particular, the STP-based estimates include defence force personnel.

Coverage

Although earnings estimates relate to the full twelve months of the financial year, employment estimates relate to the month of June in the given year. Given these differences, the ABS does not recommend using these components together to calculate average earnings.

Public sector employees and cash wages and salaries
	Employees June 2023 ('000)	Cash wages and salaries 2022-23 ($m)
Commonwealth Government	350.3	33,935.6
State Government	1,871.9	165,726.2
Local Government	208.2	15,325.7
Total Public Sector	2,430.4	214,987.5

Employees

Public sector employees, level of government, states and territories ('000)
	June 2022				June 2023
	C'wealth	State	Local	Total	C'wealth	State	Local	Total
NSW	82.4	521.2	59.1	662.7	83.6	540.2	61.0	684.7
Vic.	59.5	451.5	55.6	566.6	59.9	470.5	56.9	587.3
Qld	48.6	377.7	46.3	472.6	48.4	393.3	47.3	489.0
SA	19.6	136.5	10.9	166.9	19.8	140.4	11.2	171.4
WA	17.9	204.4	23.8	246.0	18.0	210.6	24.6	253.1
Tas.	5.9	51.1	4.3	61.3	5.9	53.0	4.4	63.3
NT	9.0	30.5	2.8	42.3	9.3	30.4	2.9	42.6
ACT	96.5	33.5	. .	130.0	105.4	33.6	. .	139.0
Australia	339.3	1,806.3	202.7	2,348.4	350.3	1,871.9	208.2	2,430.4

. . not applicable

States and territories

Public sector cash wages and salaries, level of government, states and territories ($m)
	2021-22				2022-23
	C'wealth	State	Local	Total	C'wealth	State	Local	Total
NSW	7,911.8	45,082.1	4,458.7	57,452.6	8,170.6	48,446.7	4,627.1	61,244.4
Vic.	5,684.7	37,583.7	3,688.5	46,956.9	5,808.1	40,702.5	3,806.5	50,317.1
Qld	4,563.7	33,342.6	3,723.0	41,629.3	4,631.1	36,183.3	3,899.3	44,713.7
SA	1,844.7	10,785.7	816.8	13,447.3	1,924.6	11,293.2	874.3	14,092.0
WA	1,680.8	16,954.6	1,558.9	20,194.4	1,730.2	18,483.1	1,645.8	21,859.0
Tas.	538.8	4,039.5	272.4	4,850.7	542.2	4,314.9	292.5	5,149.5
NT	796.6	3,077.4	170.7	4,044.7	840.7	3,061.4	180.3	4,082.5
ACT	9,333.6	3,147.5	. .	12,481.1	10,288.2	3,241.0	. .	13,529.2
Australia	32,354.7	154,013.1	14,689.0	201,056.9	33,935.6	165,726.2	15,325.7	214,987.5

. . not applicable

Industry

Public sector employees and cash wages and salaries, industry
	Employees '000		Cash wages and salaries $m
	Jun-22	Jun-23	2021-22	2022-23
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	54.7	57.8	6,391.7	6,860.5
Construction	7.7	8.3	747.5	820.0
Transport, postal and warehousing	77.1	76.6	7,517.1	7,986.9
Information media and telecommunications	16.3	16.8	1,802.3	1,865.8
Financial and insurance services	17.5	19.9	2,019.4	2,327.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	6.4	7.2	538.4	632.3
Professional, scientific and technical Services	34.3	36.1	3,318.6	3,507.2
Public administration and safety	798.6	817.6	73,405.1	76,888.5
Education and training	701.6	737.5	50,031.7	53,803.2
Health care and social assistance	599.4	615.4	52,854.9	57,574.4
Arts and recreation services	19.8	21.4	1,233.6	1,409.0
Other industries a.	15.0	15.7	1,196.5	1,311.9
All industries	2,348.4	2,430.4	201,056.9	214,987.5

a. Includes Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Mining, Manufacturing, Wholesale trade, Retail trade, Accommodation and food services, Administrative and support services and Other services.

Data downloads

Along with the change to a new data source, the time series spreadsheets in Public Sector Employment and Earnings will be released with a new format. This format standardises with other ABS collections. The new format may require changes to automated macros or similar programs that users may have in place that call on the previous file format.

Download all (94.2 KB)

Public sector, employees and cash wages and salaries

Data files

Level of government, states and territories
Download xlsx [57.77 KB]
Industry
Download xlsx [48.61 KB]

Data source comparison, SEE & PSEE

This section compares the previous directly collected SEE data with the new administrative PSEE for 2021-22.

The SEE data was directly collected from public sector businesses/organisations via a sampled survey, while the PSEE uses STP data sourced from the ATO.

The below tables highlight some of the conceptual similarities as well as the differences from using different data sources.

Conceptual similarities
Concept	Both PSEE & SEE
Scope of Survey	All Public Sector businesses/organisations on the ABS Frame
Conceptual Data outputs	Based on Australian System of National Accounts 2008, and Australian Conceptual Framework for Measures of Employee Remuneration
Statistical units approach	Weighted estimation used
Cash Wages and Salaries	Represents full financial year

Data, processing and method differences
Concept	PSEE	SEE
Data source and contributing units	All in-scope businesses/organisations reporting to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll	Direct survey of a sample of businesses/organisations
Business Frame management	Reporting weight adjustment	Sample Frame Maintenance Procedures
Data processing	Data transformation required to prepare for quality assurance	Reporting sample subject to Sampling and Non sampling error
Data distribution to units model	ABN data received requires mapping to ABS units model	Data reported at business level as requested by ABS
Department of Defence	Includes all APS and ADF staff (split not available in STP data)	Includes only APS staff (as previously requested), with ADF personnel excluded
Salary Sacrifice (component of cash wages and salaries)	Modelled data, given limitations of STP Phase 1 data	Reported by businesses/organisations as an individual item
Employment	Employees paid in month of June	Number of employees who received pay during the last pay period ending on or before 30 June

Further details explaining these points can be viewed on our Methodology page, under Data source comparison, SEE & PSEE.

Graphs comparing SEE data against PSEE for 2021-22

A range of graphs comparing the directly collected SEE data to the PSEE administrative data for employment for June 2022 and cash wages and salaries for the 2021-22 financial year are presented below.

Most of the difference between PSEE and SEE is accounted for by the broader scope of the Department of Defence in PSEE. A smaller contributor to the difference in employment is that PSEE captures the paid period for June compared to SEE, which captured employment for the last pay period on or before the 30 June.

Level of government, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Level of government, Employees ('000), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
Level of Government	SEE ('000)	PSEE ('000)
Total	2,160.0	2,348.4
Commonwealth	254.0	339.3
State	1,713.5	1,806.3
Local	192.5	202.7

Level of government, Employees ('000), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

["Level of Government","SEE","PSEE"]

[["Total","Commonwealth","State","Local"],[[2160],[254],[1713.5],[192.5]],[[2348.4000000000001],[339.30000000000001],[1806.3],[202.69999999999999]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Employees ('000)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Level of government, Cash, wages and salaries ($m), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
Level of Government	SEE ($m)	PSEE ($m)
Total	193,960.9	201,056.9
Commonwealth	24,489.0	32,354.7
State	154,776.6	154,013.1
Local	14,695.3	14,689.0

Level of government, Cash, wages and salaries ($m), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

["Level of Government","SEE","PSEE"]

[["Total","Commonwealth","State","Local"],[[193960.89999999999],[24489],[154776.60000000001],[14695.299999999999]],[[201056.89999999999],[32354.700000000001],[154013.10000000001],[14689]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Cash, wages and salaries ($m)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

States and territories, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

States and territories, Employees ('000), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
State	SEE ('000)	PSEE ('000)
NSW	622.0	662.7
VIC	522.1	566.6
QLD	431.2	472.6
SA	152.2	166.9
WA	232.7	246.0
TAS	57.4	61.3
NT	35.1	42.3
ACT	107.3	130.0

States and territories, Cash, wages and salaries ($m), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
State	SEE ($m)	PSEE ($m)
NSW	54,346.9	57,452.6
VIC	47,189.0	46,956.9
QLD	39,741.6	41,629.3
SA	13,320.1	13,447.3
WA	19,890.0	20,194.4
TAS	4,839.1	4,850.7
NT	3,618.3	4,044.7
ACT	11,016.0	12,481.1

Industries, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Industry, Employees ('000), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
Industry	SEE ('000)	PSEE ('000)
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	52.2	54.7
Construction	7.3	7.7
Transport, postal and warehousing	76.9	77.1
Information media and telecommunications	15.5	16.3
Financial and insurance services	15.7	17.5
Rental, hiring and real estate services	3.0	6.4
Professional, scientific and technical Services	30.4	34.3
Public administration and safety	673.5	798.6
Education and training	652.2	701.6
Health care and social assistance	599.5	599.4
Arts and recreation services	19.7	19.8
Other industries	14.3	15.0

Industry, Employees ('000), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

["Industry","SEE","PSEE"]

[["Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Construction","Transport, postal and warehousing","Information media and telecommunications","Financial and insurance services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Professional, scientific and technical Services","Public administration and safety","Education and training","Health care and social assistance","Arts and recreation services","Other industries"],[[52.200000000000003],[7.2999999999999998],[76.900000000000006],[15.5],[15.699999999999999],[3],[30.399999999999999],[673.5],[652.20000000000005],[599.5],[19.699999999999999],[14.300000000000001]],[[54.700000000000003],[7.7000000000000002],[77.099999999999994],[16.300000000000001],[17.5],[6.4000000000000004],[34.299999999999997],[798.60000000000002],[701.60000000000002],[599.39999999999998],[19.800000000000001],[15]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Employees ('000)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Industry, Cash, wages and salaries ($m), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22
Industry	SEE ($m)	PSEE ($m)
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	6,341.7	6,391.7
Construction	793.2	747.5
Transport, postal and warehousing	7,910.0	7,517.1
Information media and telecommunications	1,742.7	1,802.3
Financial and insurance services	1,997.3	2,019.4
Rental, hiring and real estate services	279.0	538.4
Professional, scientific and technical Services	3,252.8	3,318.6
Public administration and safety	63,405.0	73,405.1
Education and training	51,196.8	50,031.7
Health care and social assistance	54,640.7	52,854.9
Arts and recreation services	1,218.7	1,233.6
Other industries	1,182.9	1,196.5

Industry, Cash, wages and salaries ($m), Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

["Industry","SEE","PSEE"]

[["Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Construction","Transport, postal and warehousing","Information media and telecommunications","Financial and insurance services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Professional, scientific and technical Services","Public administration and safety","Education and training","Health care and social assistance","Arts and recreation services","Other industries"],[[6341.6999999999998],[793.20000000000005],[7910],[1742.7],[1997.3],[279],[3252.8000000000002],[63405],[51196.800000000003],[54640.699999999997],[1218.7],[1182.9000000000001]],[[6391.6999999999998],[747.5],[7517.1000000000004],[1802.3],[2019.4000000000001],[538.39999999999998],[3318.5999999999999],[73405.100000000006],[50031.699999999997],[52854.900000000001],[1233.5999999999999],[1196.5]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Cash, wages and salaries ($m)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6248.0.55.002.

Methodology

Public sector employment and earnings methodology, 2022-23 financial year

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APA

Citation

Public sector employment and earnings

APA

Citation

Key statistics

New data source

Single touch payroll source

Coverage

Employees

States and territories

Industry

Data downloads

Public sector, employees and cash wages and salaries

Level of government, states and territories

Industry

Data source comparison, SEE & PSEE

Graphs comparing SEE data against PSEE for 2021-22

Level of government, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

States and territories, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Industries, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Enquires

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

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APA

Public sector employment and earnings

APA

Key statistics

New data source

Single touch payroll source

Coverage

Employees

States and territories

Industry

Data downloads

Public sector, employees and cash wages and salaries

Level of government, states and territories

Industry

Data source comparison, SEE & PSEE

Graphs comparing SEE data against PSEE for 2021-22

Level of government, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

States and territories, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Industries, Comparison of PSEE to SEE, 2021-22

Enquires

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases