Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia, Week ending 11 February 2023

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages estimates reinstated

This release sees the return of estimates following a two month pause while the ABS and ATO implemented changes to the processes supporting the use of STP data for statistical purposes. These changes have resulted in revisions to all payroll jobs and wages indexes and are concentrated in the second half of 2022. The ABS recommends that analyses of previously published estimates be refreshed with the data from this release.

Within this release, additional sections have been included at the end of the national, state and territory and industry sections presenting estimates for the reference periods of the weeks ending 10 December 2022 and 14 January 2023. For more information on the impact of the update, see the Update to STP processes section of the Methodology.

Year-end variability

At year-end, payroll jobs and wages estimates usually see larger seasonal changes and can be affected by a higher degree of reporting variability. In this release, wages estimates across year-end have seen additional variability due to an increased incidence of one-off payments during December 2022 and January 2023.

Factors affecting interpretation

These estimates are not seasonally adjusted. Seasonality can affect the interpretation of change in payroll jobs and wages, particularly between sub-annual periods. While annual comparisons can assist in understanding underlying change, they are less useful when events such as public holidays or pandemic lockdowns don't occur in the same week in both years.

In addition, when comparing the change in payroll jobs and wages between any two periods, interpretation can be complicated by variations in their composition. Payroll job indexes are compiled from over 11 million jobs and variations in the types of jobs reported can result in compositional change (which is not quantified). For example, each payroll job in each week:

is counted in the same way regardless of job status (full-time, part-time or casual), hence variations in demand for casual staff can influence week-on-week change.
represents an individual in every paid job reported via STP, hence jobholders working multiple jobs are counted more than once. While multiple jobholders account for less than 10% of all payroll jobs, they can increase the rate of change seen week-to-week (in some industries) in circumstances where they are unable to work in any of their jobs (e.g. due to illness) and are not paid when absent.

Wages can be more heavily influenced by week-to-week change in composition, as the wages index reflects movements in aggregate wages and salaries paid (unlike the ABS Wage Price Index which presents changes in the price of labour unaffected by compositional shifts in the labour force, hours worked or employee characteristics). Variability in wages indexes in this release in any given week may be due to:

changes in hours worked,
the inclusion of cyclical payments such as bonuses, commissions or lump sum payment of leave loading,
payment of penalty rates for public holidays (which may not fall on the same date each year), or
the inclusion of irregular payments such as overtime, ad hoc or one-off payments relating to employee recognition or enterprise agreement sign-on.

Compositional change can also differ at the industry or state and territory level, particularly when there are localised labour market issues.

Alternative period comparisons

The combination of seasonal effects and differences in composition can increase the volatility of week-on-week or month-on-month changes in these estimates. For these reasons, the ABS recommends using comparisons of the current month to the same month in the previous year, or 3 months prior, to understand any trends in the payroll jobs and wages estimates presented. These comparisons will likely reduce the impact of seasonal factors and compositional change, making trends easier to identify.

Earnings guide

To learn more about the different labour measures available, their purpose and how to use them, see our Earnings guide.

Revisions

Change periods

National

In the fortnight between 28 January and 11 February 2023:

Payroll jobs increased by 1.0%, compared to an increase of 1.6% in the previous fortnight
Total wages paid increased by 2.2%, compared to an increase of 1.0% in the previous fortnight

This section presents percentage change between the weeks ending 11 February 2023 and:

14 January 2023, for month
12 February 2022, for year

Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Payroll jobs	1.0	2.6	3.1
Total wages	2.2	3.3	7.7

Estimates of change 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.

Payroll jobs and total wages index (a)(b)
Week ending	Payroll jobs (pts)	Total wages (pts)
12-Feb-22	105.7	111.5
19-Feb-22	105.5	111.5
26-Feb-22	105.4	110.9
05-Mar-22	105.7	111.8
12-Mar-22	106.7	112.7
19-Mar-22	107.1	113.6
26-Mar-22	107.1	113.6
02-Apr-22	106.8	113.5
09-Apr-22	107.0	112.3
16-Apr-22	106.4	111.7
23-Apr-22	106.0	110.4
30-Apr-22	106.6	111.1
07-May-22	107.1	110.4
14-May-22	107.4	110.4
21-May-22	107.7	110.3
28-May-22	107.8	110.7
04-Jun-22	107.8	111.7
11-Jun-22	108.2	113.2
18-Jun-22	108.5	114.9
25-Jun-22	108.4	116.4
02-Jul-22	108.3	115.6
09-Jul-22	109.1	114.1
16-Jul-22	108.9	114.2
23-Jul-22	109.0	114.6
30-Jul-22	109.4	115.0
06-Aug-22	109.4	115.3
13-Aug-22	109.6	115.1
20-Aug-22	109.8	115.8
27-Aug-22	110.0	116.4
03-Sep-22	109.8	119.3
10-Sep-22	110.0	121.3
17-Sep-22	110.0	122.8
24-Sep-22	109.6	121.5
01-Oct-22	109.1	119.4
08-Oct-22	109.1	117.2
15-Oct-22	109.7	117.2
22-Oct-22	110.0	116.7
29-Oct-22	110.0	116.5
05-Nov-22	110.0	117.2
12-Nov-22	110.5	118.0
19-Nov-22	111.7	119.6
26-Nov-22	112.4	122.5
03-Dec-22	112.9	124.9
10-Dec-22	113.0	125.8
17-Dec-22	112.2	126.1
24-Dec-22	109.2	120.7
31-Dec-22	104.8	114.3
07-Jan-23	104.4	114.0
14-Jan-23	106.2	116.2
21-Jan-23	107.3	117.3
28-Jan-23	107.9	117.4
04-Feb-23	108.8	119.5
11-Feb-23	109.0	120.1

Payroll jobs and total wages index (a)(b)

["Week ending","Payroll jobs","Total wages"]

[["12-Feb-22","19-Feb-22","26-Feb-22","05-Mar-22","12-Mar-22","19-Mar-22","26-Mar-22","02-Apr-22","09-Apr-22","16-Apr-22","23-Apr-22","30-Apr-22","07-May-22","14-May-22","21-May-22","28-May-22","04-Jun-22","11-Jun-22","18-Jun-22","25-Jun-22","02-Jul-22","09-Jul-22","16-Jul-22","23-Jul-22","30-Jul-22","06-Aug-22","13-Aug-22","20-Aug-22","27-Aug-22","03-Sep-22","10-Sep-22","17-Sep-22","24-Sep-22","01-Oct-22","08-Oct-22","15-Oct-22","22-Oct-22","29-Oct-22","05-Nov-22","12-Nov-22","19-Nov-22","26-Nov-22","03-Dec-22","10-Dec-22","17-Dec-22","24-Dec-22","31-Dec-22","07-Jan-23","14-Jan-23","21-Jan-23","28-Jan-23","04-Feb-23","11-Feb-23"],[[105.7],[105.5],[105.40000000000001],[105.7],[106.7],[107.09999999999999],[107.09999999999999],[106.8],[107],[106.40000000000001],[106],[106.59999999999999],[107.09999999999999],[107.40000000000001],[107.7],[107.8],[107.8],[108.2],[108.5],[108.40000000000001],[108.3],[109.09999999999999],[108.90000000000001],[109],[109.40000000000001],[109.40000000000001],[109.59999999999999],[109.8],[110],[109.8],[110],[110],[109.59999999999999],[109.09999999999999],[109.09999999999999],[109.7],[110],[110],[110],[110.5],[111.7],[112.40000000000001],[112.90000000000001],[113],[112.2],[109.2],[104.8],[104.40000000000001],[106.2],[107.3],[107.90000000000001],[108.8],[109]],[[111.5],[111.5],[110.90000000000001],[111.8],[112.7],[113.59999999999999],[113.59999999999999],[113.5],[112.3],[111.7],[110.40000000000001],[111.09999999999999],[110.40000000000001],[110.40000000000001],[110.3],[110.7],[111.7],[113.2],[114.90000000000001],[116.40000000000001],[115.59999999999999],[114.09999999999999],[114.2],[114.59999999999999],[115],[115.3],[115.09999999999999],[115.8],[116.40000000000001],[119.3],[121.3],[122.8],[121.5],[119.40000000000001],[117.2],[117.2],[116.7],[116.5],[117.2],[118],[119.59999999999999],[122.5],[124.90000000000001],[125.8],[126.09999999999999],[120.7],[114.3],[114],[116.2],[117.3],[117.40000000000001],[119.5],[120.09999999999999]]]

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Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.
Payroll jobs and wages data during June and July see a greater variation in business payroll reporting around the end of financial year. For more information, see Variation in revisions in Data variability and revisions.

National - week ending 14 January 2023

Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Payroll jobs	1.4	-5.4	3.8
Total wages	1.7	-7.8	9.6

National - week ending 10 December 2022

Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Payroll jobs	0.5	2.2	4.2
Total wages	2.7	6.7	10.1

State and territory

Payroll jobs

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

In the fortnight between 28 January and 11 February 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Victoria and Australian Capital Territory, both up 1.5%
Northern Territory, up 1.4%

This section presents percentage change between the weeks ending 11 February 2023 and:

14 January 2023, for month
12 February 2022, for year

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	1.0	2.6	2.6
Victoria	1.5	2.8	3.0
Queensland	0.3	2.6	3.5
South Australia	1.0	2.4	3.0
Western Australia	1.0	2.3	4.0
Tasmania	0.0	1.7	3.3
Northern Territory	1.4	3.9	3.6
Australian Capital Territory	1.5	2.7	3.5
Australia	1.0	2.6	3.1

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the month up to 11 February 2023, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 11 February 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

New South Wales, up 3.4%
Victoria, up 2.7%

Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	3.4	4.2	7.2
Victoria	2.7	3.6	7.3
Queensland	0.6	3.6	9.1
South Australia	1.8	1.5	7.3
Western Australia	1.6	1.3	8.3
Tasmania	0.5	1.5	8.4
Northern Territory	1.4	-0.2	7.5
Australian Capital Territory	1.8	2.7	6.0
Australia	2.2	3.3	7.7

State and territory - week ending 14 January 2023

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	0.8	-6.1	3.6
Victoria	0.7	-5.9	4.1
Queensland	2.7	-4.7	3.4
South Australia	1.6	-5.1	4.2
Western Australia	2.3	-4.0	3.8
Tasmania	2.2	-3.6	4.2
Northern Territory	0.9	-6.4	2.6
Australian Capital Territory	1.1	-5.0	3.4
Australia	1.4	-5.4	3.8

Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	0.4	-8.7	9.0
Victoria	0.4	-10.4	9.7
Queensland	2.4	-7.0	9.7
South Australia	3.0	-5.9	10.4
Western Australia	6.2	-2.5	12.2
Tasmania	1.4	-7.1	9.4
Northern Territory	4.6	-3.3	-6.1
Australian Capital Territory	1.2	-5.9	6.8
Australia	1.7	-7.8	9.6

State and territory - week ending 10 December 2022

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	0.4	2.3	4.2
Victoria	0.8	2.9	5.7
Queensland	0.1	1.5	3.1
South Australia	0.4	2.1	2.9
Western Australia	0.6	2.0	3.7
Tasmania	0.6	2.1	2.9
Northern Territory	0.2	1.4	4.5
Australian Capital Territory	0.0	1.3	3.7
Australia	0.5	2.2	4.2

Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	2.6	6.9	10.3
Victoria	3.8	8.1	11.4
Queensland	1.5	5.8	10.0
South Australia	2.9	6.2	7.3
Western Australia	3.2	5.9	9.5
Tasmania	4.3	5.1	9.9
Northern Territory	2.3	4.6	7.6
Australian Capital Territory	0.7	2.2	6.1
Australia	2.7	6.7	10.1

Sub-state - payroll jobs

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions (Statistical Area 4 (SA4), Statistical Area 3 (SA3) and Greater Capital City Area (GCCSA) regions) are presented as index values in Table 5 of the Data downloads.

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

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by GCCSA regions

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the month up to 11 February 2023, by the GCCSA region of the jobholder's residential address.

The ACT only has one GCCSA region for the entire Territory.

Sex and age group

Proportion of unknown sex

The jobholder characteristic of sex is only sourced from the Client Register and as the snapshot ages, sees a higher proportion of unknowns than other characteristics. The current Client Register snapshot was taken in mid-2021 and implemented in these estimates in February 2022.

In mid-February 2023, the proportion of jobholders with unknown sex has risen to 5.1%. Jobholders with unknown sex are not evenly distributed across other characteristics, hence this proportion differs across detailed indexes which include sex and can affect comparisons over time. As such, the ABS recommends that care be exercised when using indexes which include the sex characteristic.

Indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex can be affected by a higher proportion of records with unknown sex than other age groups. For more information, see the Update of jobholder characteristics in the historical Methods review.

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight to 11 February 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

worked by females, up 1.3%
worked by persons aged 70 and over, up 3.2%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by sex and age group (a)
		Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Sex	Males	0.5	1.8	-1.5
Sex	Females	1.3	2.8	0.7
Age group (years)	15-19	0.7	5.1	2.9
	20-29	1.1	3.0	3.0
	30-39	0.9	2.2	3.2
	40-49	0.9	2.2	2.3
	50-59	0.7	1.9	1.9
	60-69	1.6	2.8	5.1
	70 and over	3.2	4.7	7.0
All persons		1.0	2.6	3.1

a. Persons with 'unknown' sex and age are only included in the calculation of All persons indexes. For more information, see Inclusion of unknown characteristics in How data are processed.

Payroll jobs by sex (a)
Week ending	Males (pts)	Females (pts)
12-Feb-22	104.0	104.3
19-Feb-22	103.6	104.2
26-Feb-22	103.1	104.3
05-Mar-22	103.2	104.7
12-Mar-22	104.2	105.5
19-Mar-22	104.6	105.8
26-Mar-22	104.6	105.7
02-Apr-22	104.2	105.5
09-Apr-22	104.3	105.6
16-Apr-22	103.8	104.8
23-Apr-22	103.3	104.4
30-Apr-22	103.6	105.0
07-May-22	103.7	105.7
14-May-22	103.8	106.1
21-May-22	104.0	106.3
28-May-22	104.2	106.3
04-Jun-22	104.1	106.1
11-Jun-22	104.5	106.4
18-Jun-22	104.8	106.6
25-Jun-22	104.5	106.7
02-Jul-22	104.4	106.4
09-Jul-22	105.5	106.6
16-Jul-22	105.4	106.4
23-Jul-22	105.4	106.4
30-Jul-22	105.5	106.8
06-Aug-22	105.4	106.8
13-Aug-22	105.6	107.0
20-Aug-22	105.6	107.1
27-Aug-22	105.6	107.3
03-Sep-22	105.4	107.0
10-Sep-22	105.5	107.1
17-Sep-22	105.4	107.1
24-Sep-22	104.9	106.5
01-Oct-22	104.5	106.0
08-Oct-22	104.3	105.9
15-Oct-22	104.7	106.5
22-Oct-22	104.8	106.8
29-Oct-22	104.7	106.8
05-Nov-22	104.5	106.8
12-Nov-22	104.9	107.2
19-Nov-22	105.8	108.3
26-Nov-22	106.1	109.1
03-Dec-22	106.3	109.6
10-Dec-22	106.4	109.5
17-Dec-22	105.6	108.6
24-Dec-22	102.7	105.8
31-Dec-22	98.5	101.7
07-Jan-23	98.7	101.0
14-Jan-23	100.6	102.2
21-Jan-23	101.6	102.9
28-Jan-23	101.9	103.7
04-Feb-23	102.4	104.7
11-Feb-23	102.4	105.0

Payroll jobs by sex (a)

["Week ending","Males","Females"]

[["12-Feb-22","19-Feb-22","26-Feb-22","05-Mar-22","12-Mar-22","19-Mar-22","26-Mar-22","02-Apr-22","09-Apr-22","16-Apr-22","23-Apr-22","30-Apr-22","07-May-22","14-May-22","21-May-22","28-May-22","04-Jun-22","11-Jun-22","18-Jun-22","25-Jun-22","02-Jul-22","09-Jul-22","16-Jul-22","23-Jul-22","30-Jul-22","06-Aug-22","13-Aug-22","20-Aug-22","27-Aug-22","03-Sep-22","10-Sep-22","17-Sep-22","24-Sep-22","01-Oct-22","08-Oct-22","15-Oct-22","22-Oct-22","29-Oct-22","05-Nov-22","12-Nov-22","19-Nov-22","26-Nov-22","03-Dec-22","10-Dec-22","17-Dec-22","24-Dec-22","31-Dec-22","07-Jan-23","14-Jan-23","21-Jan-23","28-Jan-23","04-Feb-23","11-Feb-23"],[[104],[103.59999999999999],[103.09999999999999],[103.2],[104.2],[104.59999999999999],[104.59999999999999],[104.2],[104.3],[103.8],[103.3],[103.59999999999999],[103.7],[103.8],[104],[104.2],[104.09999999999999],[104.5],[104.8],[104.5],[104.40000000000001],[105.5],[105.40000000000001],[105.40000000000001],[105.5],[105.40000000000001],[105.59999999999999],[105.59999999999999],[105.59999999999999],[105.40000000000001],[105.5],[105.40000000000001],[104.90000000000001],[104.5],[104.3],[104.7],[104.8],[104.7],[104.5],[104.90000000000001],[105.8],[106.09999999999999],[106.3],[106.40000000000001],[105.59999999999999],[102.7],[98.5],[98.700000000000003],[100.59999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[101.90000000000001],[102.40000000000001],[102.40000000000001]],[[104.3],[104.2],[104.3],[104.7],[105.5],[105.8],[105.7],[105.5],[105.59999999999999],[104.8],[104.40000000000001],[105],[105.7],[106.09999999999999],[106.3],[106.3],[106.09999999999999],[106.40000000000001],[106.59999999999999],[106.7],[106.40000000000001],[106.59999999999999],[106.40000000000001],[106.40000000000001],[106.8],[106.8],[107],[107.09999999999999],[107.3],[107],[107.09999999999999],[107.09999999999999],[106.5],[106],[105.90000000000001],[106.5],[106.8],[106.8],[106.8],[107.2],[108.3],[109.09999999999999],[109.59999999999999],[109.5],[108.59999999999999],[105.8],[101.7],[101],[102.2],[102.90000000000001],[103.7],[104.7],[105]]]

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Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 11 February 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

worked by males, up 2.8%
worked by persons aged 70 and over, up 4.5%

Percentage change in total wages, by sex and age group (a)
		Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Sex	Males	2.8	3.8	4.8
Sex	Females	1.5	2.5	7.6
Age group (years)	15-19	-4.0	0.8	12.4
	20-29	1.5	3.0	8.7
	30-39	2.4	3.3	7.6
	40-49	2.9	3.8	6.6
	50-59	2.3	3.2	6.9
	60-69	2.3	2.8	10.3
	70 and over	4.5	5.1	15.0
All persons		2.2	3.3	7.7

a. Persons with 'unknown' sex and age are only included in the calculation of All persons indexes. For more information, see Inclusion of unknown characteristics in How data are processed.

5 year age groups - Payroll jobs

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups by sex are presented as index values in Table 8 of the Data downloads.

Industry

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight between 28 January and 11 February 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Education and training, up 6.7%
Construction, up 3.1%

This section presents percentage change between the weeks ending 11 February 2023 and:

14 January 2023, for month
12 February 2022, for year

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-0.9	-1.2	-4.9
Mining	0.2	0.8	7.0
Manufacturing	-0.2	2.4	-0.6
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.5	1.0	3.6
Construction	3.1	6.0	0.1
Wholesale trade	-0.6	0.2	3.0
Retail trade	0.0	-0.2	1.1
Accommodation and food services	-0.5	1.3	-3.1
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.8	1.7	1.7
Information media and telecommunications	0.8	1.6	6.2
Financial and insurance services	-0.2	1.5	3.8
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.0	0.9	0.7
Professional, scientific and technical services	1.0	2.0	2.8
Administrative and support services	0.6	3.8	0.6
Public administration and safety	0.9	2.3	2.4
Education and training	6.7	10.3	5.1
Health care and social assistance	0.3	1.9	3.4
Arts and recreation services	1.8	4.3	9.9
Other services	0.0	1.0	-2.1
All industries	1.0	2.6	3.1

Some industries experience pronounced seasonality in either payroll jobs and wages or both. For more information, see Seasonality in Data variability and revisions.

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry (a)
	Fortnight to 28 January 2023 (%)	Fortnight to 11 February 2023 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-0.3	-0.9
Wholesale trade	0.7	-0.6
Accommodation and food services	1.8	-0.5
Manufacturing	2.6	-0.2
Financial and insurance services	1.6	-0.2
Retail trade	-0.2	0.0
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.9	0.0
Other services	1.0	0.0
Mining	0.6	0.2
Health care and social assistance	1.6	0.3
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.6	0.5
Administrative and support services	3.2	0.6
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.9	0.8
Information media and telecommunications	0.8	0.8
Public administration and safety	1.4	0.9
Professional, scientific and technical services	1.0	1.0
Arts and recreation services	2.4	1.8
Construction	2.8	3.1
Education and training	3.4	6.7

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry (a)

["","Fortnight to 28 January 2023","Fortnight to 11 February 2023"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Wholesale trade","Accommodation and food services","Manufacturing","Financial and insurance services","Retail trade","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Other services","Mining","Health care and social assistance","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Administrative and support services","Transport, postal and warehousing","Information media and telecommunications","Public administration and safety","Professional, scientific and technical services","Arts and recreation services","Construction","Education and training"],[[-0.29999999999999999],[0.69999999999999996],[1.8],[2.6000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[-0.20000000000000001],[0.90000000000000002],[1],[0.59999999999999998],[1.6000000000000001],[0.59999999999999998],[3.2000000000000002],[0.90000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004],[1.3999999999999999],[1],[2.3999999999999999],[2.7999999999999998],[3.3999999999999999]],[[-0.90000000000000002],[-0.59999999999999998],[-0.5],[-0.20000000000000001],[-0.20000000000000001],[0],[0],[0],[0.20000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.5],[0.59999999999999998],[0.80000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004],[0.90000000000000002],[1],[1.8],[3.1000000000000001],[6.7000000000000002]]]

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Industries ranked by percentage change in the latest fortnight.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 11 February 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Mining, up 10.3%
Information media and telecommunications, up 7.2%

Percentage change in total wages, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-0.4	-3.5	0.9
Mining	10.3	10.2	10.4
Manufacturing	4.5	6.3	5.6
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	2.0	3.9	8.2
Construction	4.6	5.6	5.8
Wholesale trade	5.2	5.5	6.6
Retail trade	-0.6	-1.6	6.1
Accommodation and food services	-3.7	-2.5	5.1
Transport, postal and warehousing	4.2	6.5	13.7
Information media and telecommunications	7.2	7.4	8.2
Financial and insurance services	3.0	5.5	6.1
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.7	2.2	1.6
Professional, scientific and technical services	2.5	3.2	4.9
Administrative and support services	4.7	8.3	5.0
Public administration and safety	-0.3	-1.4	6.1
Education and training	0.9	8.4	8.7
Health care and social assistance	-0.5	-1.8	6.8
Arts and recreation services	0.1	1.9	15.3
Other services	0.7	0.9	6.8
All industries	2.2	3.3	7.7

Some industries experience pronounced seasonality in either payroll jobs and wages or both. For more information, see Seasonality in Data variability and revisions.

Industry - week ending 14 January 2023

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight between 31 December 2022 and 14 January 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Administrative and support services, up 6.8%
Education and training, down 6.3%

This section presents percentage change between the weeks ending 14 January 2023 and:

17 December 2022, for month
15 January 2022, for year

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.1	-6.3	-3.5
Mining	0.7	-0.6	7.5
Manufacturing	4.6	-4.0	-0.1
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.8	-1.2	3.7
Construction	6.0	-6.2	-0.8
Wholesale trade	2.1	-2.5	3.6
Retail trade	0.2	-4.9	2.0
Accommodation and food services	2.1	-7.4	0.7
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.3	-4.7	2.7
Information media and telecommunications	-0.1	-2.8	6.6
Financial and insurance services	0.5	-2.1	2.1
Rental, hiring and real estate services	3.1	-3.7	1.3
Professional, scientific and technical services	0.9	-3.6	2.3
Administrative and support services	6.8	-8.5	2.4
Public administration and safety	0.4	-2.9	2.1
Education and training	-6.3	-15.8	6.8
Health care and social assistance	0.9	-3.2	3.7
Arts and recreation services	4.2	-5.0	10.5
Other services	2.3	-6.0	0.6
All industries	1.4	-5.4	3.8

Total wages

In the fortnight to 14 January 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Administrative and support services, up 13.1%
Construction, up 10.6%

Percentage change in total wages, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.2	-11.3	5.1
Mining	1.9	0.3	15.8
Manufacturing	3.3	-9.6	8.0
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1.5	-4.5	8.9
Construction	10.6	-11.7	7.4
Wholesale trade	0.2	-7.0	8.8
Retail trade	-3.2	-4.8	5.7
Accommodation and food services	-4.6	-6.0	12.3
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.8	-9.0	9.9
Information media and telecommunications	-1.2	-6.4	13.8
Financial and insurance services	1.8	-22.0	7.6
Rental, hiring and real estate services	5.6	-5.9	2.6
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.6	-7.3	9.7
Administrative and support services	13.1	-11.2	5.4
Public administration and safety	2.9	-0.2	5.7
Education and training	-4.0	-15.9	8.2
Health care and social assistance	1.2	-0.3	9.8
Arts and recreation services	-2.0	-5.7	16.8
Other services	2.9	-8.3	9.5
All industries	1.7	-7.8	9.6

Industry - week ending 10 December 2022

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight between 26 November and 10 December 2022, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Transport, postal and warehousing and Public administration and safety, both up 1.3%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing and Wholesale trade, up 1.2%

This section presents percentage change between the weeks ending 10 December 2022 and:

12 November 2022, for month
11 December 2021, for year

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1.2	3.6	-1.1
Mining	0.6	1.6	10.3
Manufacturing	0.4	0.6	1.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.5	0.3	5.0
Construction	0.1	0.9	4.1
Wholesale trade	1.2	1.7	3.2
Retail trade	0.4	2.8	4.1
Accommodation and food services	-0.2	1.6	5.3
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.3	2.1	2.8
Information media and telecommunications	0.5	1.5	12.5
Financial and insurance services	0.6	1.9	3.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.4	1.8	1.9
Professional, scientific and technical services	0.3	1.5	5.3
Administrative and support services	0.0	2.4	7.9
Public administration and safety	1.3	2.6	4.2
Education and training	-0.2	3.2	9.2
Health care and social assistance	0.4	2.4	5.6
Arts and recreation services	1.1	4.0	11.9
Other services	0.3	1.8	3.1
All industries	0.5	2.2	4.2

Total wages

In the fortnight to 10 December 2022, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Financial and insurance services, up 6.5%
Transport, postal and warehousing, up 6.2%

Percentage change in total wages, by industry (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	3.9	8.7	8.3
Mining	3.1	6.6	17.7
Manufacturing	4.6	4.7	7.5
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.8	1.7	13.5
Construction	2.0	3.4	11.2
Wholesale trade	5.0	6.6	8.2
Retail trade	2.5	4.7	8.6
Accommodation and food services	1.5	4.0	12.9
Transport, postal and warehousing	6.2	8.2	14.9
Information media and telecommunications	1.0	2.4	22.7
Financial and insurance services	6.5	20.7	10.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.1	6.0	5.9
Professional, scientific and technical services	2.5	4.3	12.0
Administrative and support services	1.2	3.7	12.2
Public administration and safety	0.0	5.9	7.0
Education and training	2.5	14.8	11.2
Health care and social assistance	2.0	4.8	10.3
Arts and recreation services	1.6	6.5	19.5
Other services	2.3	4.4	10.5
All industries	2.7	6.7	10.1

Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision are presented as index values in Table 6 of the Data downloads. For more information on the industry classifications used in this release, see the Glossary.

Private sector industry - Payroll jobs

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by private sector for selected industry divisions are presented as index values in Table 9 of the Data downloads. More information on the sector classification can be found in Updating characteristics variables in How data are processed and the Glossary.

Industry employment guide

To learn more about the different labour measures available, their purpose and how to use them, see our Industry employment guide.

Employment size

The ABS has previously advised caution in using the most recent periods in payroll jobs by employment size indexes, which are subject to higher than usual revisions over a longer period - particularly for small employers. These indexes are more heavily influenced by changes in reporting behaviour and reporting obligations than other indexes, affecting the interpretation of underlying change in labour market conditions. To provide more stability at the end point of these series, a month lag in the reference week is in place.

This release presents percentage change between the weeks ending 14 January 2023 and:

31 December 2022, for fortnight
17 December 2022, for month
15 January 2022, for year

In the fortnight to 14 January 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

20-199 employees, up 3.2%

Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size, for the week ending 14 January 2023 (a)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
0-19 employees	3.0	-6.9	4.2
20-199 employees	3.2	-5.1	1.2
200 employees and over	-0.2	-4.7	4.8
All businesses	1.4	-5.4	3.8

Records with 'unknown' employment size are only included in the calculation of All businesses indexes. For more information, see Revisions in sub-populations in Data variability and revisions.

Distribution of characteristics

To aid in the interpretability of payroll job estimates, the following data download contains selected distributions of jobholder and employer characteristics by state and territory.

Records with 'unknown' characteristics have been excluded from the calculation of proportions. For more information on the source, impact and proportion of unknowns, see the Updating characteristic variables and Inclusion of unknown characteristics sections of How data are processed.

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Contains selected distributions of jobholder and employer characteristics.

Data files

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Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Data files

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Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

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Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

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Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Data files

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Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Data files

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Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

Data files

Download xlsx [58.93 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [4.79 MB]

Changes in this release

On this page, section updates occurred within:

National, State and territory and Industry sections: additional subsections added to present estimates for the weeks ending 10 December 2022 and 14 January 2023

Within the Methodology page, updates occurred within:

How data are processed: subsection Updating characteristic variables updated
Update of employer characteristics: section removed
Update to STP processes: new section describing the update and its impacts

Previous articles

Previously published articles and information of interest are linked below:

Characteristics spotlight: 2022 provides selected insights of payroll jobs distributions
Regional spotlight on New South Wales and Queensland provides maps of regional payroll job changes in the month to mid-March 2022
Seasonality spotlight describes the most recent seasonal changes in the labour market
Distribution of jobholder and employer characteristics provides selected distributions to aid in interpreting estimates produced from STP data
A year of COVID-19 through payroll jobs and wages statistics reviews payroll jobs and wages in the year since Australia's 100th case of COVID-19
Year-end data variability provides some context on seasonality and seasonal variation
Secondary jobs provides insight into multiple jobholders
Incorporating JobKeeper supported payments into Weekly payroll jobs and wages in Australia describes how JobKeeper payments are included

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

APA

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

APA

Key statistics

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages estimates reinstated

Year-end variability

Factors affecting interpretation

Alternative period comparisons

Earnings guide

Revisions

Change periods

National

National - week ending 14 January 2023

National - week ending 10 December 2022

State and territory

Payroll jobs

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

Total wages

State and territory - week ending 14 January 2023

Payroll jobs

Total wages

State and territory - week ending 10 December 2022

Payroll jobs

Total wages

Sub-state - payroll jobs

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by GCCSA regions

Sex and age group

Proportion of unknown sex

Payroll jobs

Total wages

5 year age groups - Payroll jobs

Industry

Payroll jobs

Total wages

Industry - week ending 14 January 2023

Payroll jobs

Total wages

Industry - week ending 10 December 2022

Payroll jobs

Total wages

Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs

Private sector industry - Payroll jobs

Industry employment guide

Employment size

Distribution of characteristics

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

All data cubes

Changes in this release

Previous articles

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Seasonal rise in payroll jobs into February

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