Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

This is not the latest release View the latest release

Payroll jobs and wages estimates, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period

Week ending 13 November 2021

Released

9/12/2021

View all releases

Key statistics

Between the weeks ending 30 October and 13 November 2021:

Payroll jobs, up 0.2%
Total wages paid, held steady at 0.0%

Update of employer characteristics

This release includes an update to the method used to determine the employer characteristics of payroll jobs. Approximately 4% of all payroll jobs in the underlying STP dataset have had their employer characteristics updated, resulting in one-off revisions to industry, employment size and sector indexes. These revisions are greater in 2021 and impact component indexes differently. For more information, see the Update of employer characteristics section in Methods review.

The ABS recommends that analyses of previously published estimates be refreshed with revised data from this release.

Last interim release

The last release of 'Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia, Interim' will occur on Wednesday 22 December 2021. It will include updated national and state and territory payroll job estimates up to the week ending 27 November 2021.

Revisions

This release sees higher than usual revisions in August 2021, as the 16 week imputation retention threshold passes through this period. Increased lags in reporting in lockdown areas, in addition to higher than usual variability around the end of the financial year contributed to some over-imputation, which is now being removed as more complete data is received.

Users should exercise caution when referring to estimates across August 2021.

National

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021:

Payroll jobs increased by 0.2%, compared to an increase of 1.5% in the previous fortnight
Total wages paid held steady at 0.0%, compared to an increase of 0.8% in the previous fortnight

Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
	In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
Payroll jobs	0.2%	1.7%	2.4%
Total wages	0.0%	0.8%	7.3%

Estimates of changes 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)
14-Nov-20	102.2	100.2
21-Nov-20	102.6	100.3
28-Nov-20	102.9	101.6
05-Dec-20	103.4	103.3
12-Dec-20	103.6	103.9
19-Dec-20	102.8	103.8
26-Dec-20	99.0	98.3
02-Jan-21	96.2	94.9
09-Jan-21	97.6	95.8
16-Jan-21	99.7	97.9
23-Jan-21	100.7	98.4
30-Jan-21	101.2	98.8
06-Feb-21	101.7	102.5
13-Feb-21	102.4	103.6
20-Feb-21	102.7	103.7
27-Feb-21	103.2	104.3
06-Mar-21	103.3	104.9
13-Mar-21	103.7	105.0
20-Mar-21	103.9	104.9
27-Mar-21	103.7	105.3
03-Apr-21	102.8	104.7
10-Apr-21	102.4	103.0
17-Apr-21	102.7	103.5
24-Apr-21	103.0	103.0
01-May-21	103.3	103.5
08-May-21	103.7	102.7
15-May-21	103.9	103.1
22-May-21	104.1	103.2
29-May-21	103.8	102.7
05-Jun-21	103.3	103.8
12-Jun-21	103.5	104.9
19-Jun-21	103.7	105.8
26-Jun-21	103.2	106.8
03-Jul-21	102.4	106.3
10-Jul-21	102.5	103.9
17-Jul-21	102.1	103.2
24-Jul-21	100.9	101.8
31-Jul-21	101.0	101.9
07-Aug-21	100.7	102.2
14-Aug-21	100.7	102.4
21-Aug-21	100.7	103.0
28-Aug-21	100.5	103.2
04-Sep-21	100.7	107.8
11-Sep-21	101.3	110.4
18-Sep-21	101.7	110.8
25-Sep-21	101.5	109.2
02-Oct-21	101.2	107.0
09-Oct-21	101.6	105.6
16-Oct-21	103.0	106.8
23-Oct-21	103.9	107.1
30-Oct-21	104.6	107.6
06-Nov-21	104.7	108.0
13-Nov-21	104.7	107.6

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

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

[["14-Nov-20","21-Nov-20","28-Nov-20","05-Dec-20","12-Dec-20","19-Dec-20","26-Dec-20","02-Jan-21","09-Jan-21","16-Jan-21","23-Jan-21","30-Jan-21","06-Feb-21","13-Feb-21","20-Feb-21","27-Feb-21","06-Mar-21","13-Mar-21","20-Mar-21","27-Mar-21","03-Apr-21","10-Apr-21","17-Apr-21","24-Apr-21","01-May-21","08-May-21","15-May-21","22-May-21","29-May-21","05-Jun-21","12-Jun-21","19-Jun-21","26-Jun-21","03-Jul-21","10-Jul-21","17-Jul-21","24-Jul-21","31-Jul-21","07-Aug-21","14-Aug-21","21-Aug-21","28-Aug-21","04-Sep-21","11-Sep-21","18-Sep-21","25-Sep-21","02-Oct-21","09-Oct-21","16-Oct-21","23-Oct-21","30-Oct-21","06-Nov-21","13-Nov-21"],[[102.2],[102.59999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103.40000000000001],[103.59999999999999],[102.8],[99],[96.200000000000003],[97.599999999999994],[99.700000000000003],[100.7],[101.2],[101.7],[102.40000000000001],[102.7],[103.2],[103.3],[103.7],[103.90000000000001],[103.7],[102.8],[102.40000000000001],[102.7],[103],[103.3],[103.7],[103.90000000000001],[104.09999999999999],[103.8],[103.3],[103.5],[103.7],[103.2],[102.40000000000001],[102.5],[102.09999999999999],[100.90000000000001],[101],[100.7],[100.7],[100.7],[100.5],[100.7],[101.3],[101.7],[101.5],[101.2],[101.59999999999999],[103],[103.90000000000001],[104.59999999999999],[104.7],[104.7]],[[100.2],[100.3],[101.59999999999999],[103.3],[103.90000000000001],[103.8],[98.299999999999997],[94.900000000000006],[95.799999999999997],[97.900000000000006],[98.400000000000006],[98.799999999999997],[102.5],[103.59999999999999],[103.7],[104.3],[104.90000000000001],[105],[104.90000000000001],[105.3],[104.7],[103],[103.5],[103],[103.5],[102.7],[103.09999999999999],[103.2],[102.7],[103.8],[104.90000000000001],[105.8],[106.8],[106.3],[103.90000000000001],[103.2],[101.8],[101.90000000000001],[102.2],[102.40000000000001],[103],[103.2],[107.8],[110.40000000000001],[110.8],[109.2],[107],[105.59999999999999],[106.8],[107.09999999999999],[107.59999999999999],[108],[107.59999999999999]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Index","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(pts)","table_units":"(pts)","axis_min":"92","axis_max":"112","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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.

State and territory

Payroll jobs

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

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Victoria, up 0.8%
Northern Territory, down 0.6%

State and territory percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 13 November 2021

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to 13 November 2021, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address.

- New South Wales (-0.1%)
- Victoria (0.8%)
- Queensland (-0.1%)
- South Australia (0.1%)
- Western Australia (-0.1%)
- Tasmania (0.1%)
- Northern Territory (-0.6%)
- Australian Capital Territory (0.3%)

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
New South Wales	-0.1%	1.8%	0.2%
Victoria	0.8%	3.6%	3.0%
Queensland	-0.1%	0.0%	3.5%
South Australia	0.1%	0.5%	3.6%
Western Australia	-0.1%	0.5%	5.2%
Tasmania	0.1%	0.6%	3.1%
Northern Territory	-0.6%	0.0%	5.6%
Australian Capital Territory	0.3%	4.6%	-0.9%
Australia	0.2%	1.7%	2.4%

Total wages

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Northern Territory, down 1.2%
Tasmania, up 0.8%

Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
	In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
New South Wales	-0.2%	1.2%	6.3%
Victoria	0.7%	2.1%	7.3%
Queensland	-0.4%	-0.9%	7.9%
South Australia	-0.4%	0.4%	8.1%
Western Australia	0.0%	-0.2%	9.3%
Tasmania	0.8%	0.2%	6.6%
Northern Territory	-1.2%	-0.9%	7.0%
Australian Capital Territory	-0.7%	1.9%	5.8%
Australia	0.0%	0.8%	7.3%

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.

GCCSA regions percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 13 November 2021

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to 13 November 2021, by the GCCSA region of the jobholder's residential address.
- Greater Sydney (-0.3%)
- Rest of New South Wales (0.0%)
- Greater Melbourne (0.8%)
- Rest of Victoria (-0.1%)
- Greater Brisbane (-0.1%)
- Rest of Queensland (-0.4%)
- Greater Adelaide (0.0%)
- Rest of South Australia (-0.2%)
- Greater Perth (-0.2%)
- Rest of Western Australia (0.1%)
- Greater Hobart (0.2%)
- Rest of Tasmania (-0.2%)
- Greater Darwin (-0.8%)
- Rest of Northern Territory (-0.4%)
- Australian Capital Territory (0.3%)

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

Sex and age group

Impact of unknown sex

Persons aged 15-19 years old by sex indexes are impacted by a higher proportion of records with unknown sex than other age group indexes. For more information, see the Impact of unknown sex section in Data variability and revisions.

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

worked by females, up 0.3%
worked by males, down 0.3%
worked by persons aged 15-19, up 2.1%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by sex and age group (a)
		In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
Sex	Males	-0.3%	0.6%	-0.4%
Sex	Females	0.3%	2.2%	1.6%
Age group (years)	15-19	2.1%	7.3%	7.3%
	20-29	0.7%	3.6%	2.6%
	30-39	-0.2%	0.8%	1.8%
	40-49	-0.3%	0.4%	1.3%
	50-59	-0.2%	0.5%	1.9%
	60-69	0.2%	1.1%	3.9%
	70 and over	0.6%	2.2%	3.7%
All persons		0.2%	1.7%	2.4%

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)
14-Nov-20	101.7	101.8
21-Nov-20	101.8	102.2
28-Nov-20	102.0	102.5
05-Dec-20	102.4	103.0
12-Dec-20	102.6	103.0
19-Dec-20	101.7	102.4
26-Dec-20	97.7	98.8
02-Jan-21	95.0	95.9
09-Jan-21	96.8	96.7
16-Jan-21	99.1	98.6
23-Jan-21	100.1	99.5
30-Jan-21	100.5	100.1
06-Feb-21	100.9	100.6
13-Feb-21	101.5	101.4
20-Feb-21	101.6	101.7
27-Feb-21	101.9	102.2
06-Mar-21	101.9	102.5
13-Mar-21	102.3	102.9
20-Mar-21	102.3	103.0
27-Mar-21	102.1	102.8
03-Apr-21	101.2	101.8
10-Apr-21	100.9	101.3
17-Apr-21	101.3	101.4
24-Apr-21	101.4	101.8
01-May-21	101.6	102.3
08-May-21	101.8	102.7
15-May-21	102.0	102.9
22-May-21	102.1	103.1
29-May-21	101.8	102.8
05-Jun-21	101.3	102.2
12-Jun-21	101.5	102.4
19-Jun-21	101.4	102.7
26-Jun-21	100.9	102.3
03-Jul-21	100.3	101.2
10-Jul-21	100.8	100.7
17-Jul-21	100.5	100.4
24-Jul-21	99.2	99.3
31-Jul-21	99.0	99.6
07-Aug-21	98.9	99.2
14-Aug-21	99.1	98.9
21-Aug-21	99.3	98.7
28-Aug-21	99.1	98.4
04-Sep-21	99.5	98.4
11-Sep-21	100.0	99.1
18-Sep-21	100.2	99.4
25-Sep-21	99.8	99.2
02-Oct-21	99.4	99.1
09-Oct-21	99.6	99.4
16-Oct-21	100.7	101.1
23-Oct-21	101.2	102.2
30-Oct-21	101.5	103.0
06-Nov-21	101.3	103.3
13-Nov-21	101.2	103.3

Payroll jobs by sex(a)

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

[["14-Nov-20","21-Nov-20","28-Nov-20","05-Dec-20","12-Dec-20","19-Dec-20","26-Dec-20","02-Jan-21","09-Jan-21","16-Jan-21","23-Jan-21","30-Jan-21","06-Feb-21","13-Feb-21","20-Feb-21","27-Feb-21","06-Mar-21","13-Mar-21","20-Mar-21","27-Mar-21","03-Apr-21","10-Apr-21","17-Apr-21","24-Apr-21","01-May-21","08-May-21","15-May-21","22-May-21","29-May-21","05-Jun-21","12-Jun-21","19-Jun-21","26-Jun-21","03-Jul-21","10-Jul-21","17-Jul-21","24-Jul-21","31-Jul-21","07-Aug-21","14-Aug-21","21-Aug-21","28-Aug-21","04-Sep-21","11-Sep-21","18-Sep-21","25-Sep-21","02-Oct-21","09-Oct-21","16-Oct-21","23-Oct-21","30-Oct-21","06-Nov-21","13-Nov-21"],[[101.7],[101.8],[102],[102.40000000000001],[102.59999999999999],[101.7],[97.700000000000003],[95],[96.799999999999997],[99.099999999999994],[100.09999999999999],[100.5],[100.90000000000001],[101.5],[101.59999999999999],[101.90000000000001],[101.90000000000001],[102.3],[102.3],[102.09999999999999],[101.2],[100.90000000000001],[101.3],[101.40000000000001],[101.59999999999999],[101.8],[102],[102.09999999999999],[101.8],[101.3],[101.5],[101.40000000000001],[100.90000000000001],[100.3],[100.8],[100.5],[99.200000000000003],[99],[98.900000000000006],[99.099999999999994],[99.299999999999997],[99.099999999999994],[99.5],[100],[100.2],[99.799999999999997],[99.400000000000006],[99.599999999999994],[100.7],[101.2],[101.5],[101.3],[101.2]],[[101.8],[102.2],[102.5],[103],[103],[102.40000000000001],[98.799999999999997],[95.900000000000006],[96.700000000000003],[98.599999999999994],[99.5],[100.09999999999999],[100.59999999999999],[101.40000000000001],[101.7],[102.2],[102.5],[102.90000000000001],[103],[102.8],[101.8],[101.3],[101.40000000000001],[101.8],[102.3],[102.7],[102.90000000000001],[103.09999999999999],[102.8],[102.2],[102.40000000000001],[102.7],[102.3],[101.2],[100.7],[100.40000000000001],[99.299999999999997],[99.599999999999994],[99.200000000000003],[98.900000000000006],[98.700000000000003],[98.400000000000006],[98.400000000000006],[99.099999999999994],[99.400000000000006],[99.200000000000003],[99.099999999999994],[99.400000000000006],[101.09999999999999],[102.2],[103],[103.3],[103.3]]]

[]

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

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Index","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(pts)","table_units":"(pts)","axis_min":"92","axis_max":"112","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

worked by males, down 0.3%
worked by persons aged 15-19, up 2.7%

Percentage change in total wages, by sex and age group (a)
		In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
Sex	Males	-0.3%	0.2%	5.6%
Sex	Females	0.2%	1.3%	8.0%
Age group (years)	15-19	2.7%	9.9%	13.3%
	20-29	0.9%	3.6%	8.5%
	30-39	-0.1%	0.5%	7.3%
	40-49	-0.4%	-0.2%	6.4%
	50-59	-0.4%	-0.4%	6.8%
	60-69	-0.1%	0.4%	8.3%
	70 and over	0.0%	1.6%	10.0%
All persons		0.0%	0.8%	7.3%

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 to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Arts and recreation services, up 6.4%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, down 3.0%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a)
	In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-3.0%	-2.9%	-4.8%
Mining	-0.2%	-0.1%	5.9%
Manufacturing	-0.4%	-0.7%	-1.2%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.5%	-0.7%	5.0%
Construction	0.1%	0.3%	-1.2%
Wholesale trade	-0.6%	-0.9%	-0.3%
Retail trade	1.3%	4.7%	1.1%
Accommodation and food services	1.9%	7.9%	-5.1%
Transport, postal and warehousing	-0.4%	0.7%	-3.5%
Information media and telecommunications	-0.1%	0.8%	-0.8%
Financial and insurance services	-1.2%	-0.1%	6.0%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-0.8%	0.0%	0.6%
Professional, scientific and technical services	-1.1%	-1.3%	3.1%
Administrative and support services	-0.1%	1.3%	0.4%
Public administration and safety	0.1%	0.6%	1.6%
Education and training	1.2%	3.7%	3.5%
Health care and social assistance	-0.4%	0.3%	5.1%
Arts and recreation services	6.4%	16.9%	3.5%
Other services	0.0%	3.3%	-3.1%
All industries	0.2%	1.7%	2.4%

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 30 October 2021 (%)	Fortnight to 13 November 2021 (%)
Arts and recreation services	9.9	6.4
Accommodation and food services	5.9	1.9
Retail trade	3.3	1.3
Education and training	2.5	1.2
Public administration and safety	0.5	0.1
Construction	0.2	0.1
Other services	3.3	0.0
Information media and telecommunications	0.9	-0.1
Administrative and support services	1.4	-0.1
Mining	0.1	-0.2
Manufacturing	-0.3	-0.4
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.1	-0.4
Health care and social assistance	0.7	-0.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.2	-0.5
Wholesale trade	-0.3	-0.6
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.8	-0.8
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.2	-1.0
Financial and insurance services	1.1	-1.2
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	0.1	-3.0

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry(a)

["","Fortnight to 30 October 2021","Fortnight to 13 November 2021"]

[["Arts and recreation services","Accommodation and food services","Retail trade","Education and training","Public administration and safety","Construction","Other services","Information media and telecommunications","Administrative and support services","Mining","Manufacturing","Transport, postal and warehousing","Health care and social assistance","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Wholesale trade","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Professional, scientific and technical services","Financial and insurance services","Agriculture, forestry and fishing"],[[9.9000000000000004],[5.9000000000000004],[3.2999999999999998],[2.5],[0.5],[0.20000000000000001],[3.2999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[1.3999999999999999],[0.10000000000000001],[-0.29999999999999999],[1.1000000000000001],[0.69999999999999996],[-0.20000000000000001],[-0.29999999999999999],[0.80000000000000004],[-0.20000000000000001],[1.1000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001]],[[6.4000000000000004],[1.8999999999999999],[1.3],[1.2],[0.10000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001],[0],[-0.10000000000000001],[-0.10000000000000001],[-0.20000000000000001],[-0.40000000000000002],[-0.40000000000000002],[-0.40000000000000002],[-0.5],[-0.59999999999999998],[-0.80000000000000004],[-1],[-1.2],[-3]]]

[]

[{"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":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-4","axis_max":"12","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Industries ranked by percentage change in the latest fortnight.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 13 November 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Arts and recreation services, up 5.4%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, down 5.0%

Percentage change in total wages, by industry(a)
	In the fortnight since 30 October 2021	In the month since 16 October 2021	In the year since 14 November 2020
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-5.0%	-2.4%	-0.7%
Mining	-0.3%	-2.6%	7.9%
Manufacturing	0.4%	0.0%	3.2%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.9%	-1.5%	7.9%
Construction	0.6%	1.3%	2.3%
Wholesale trade	-0.8%	-0.8%	6.1%
Retail trade	3.2%	4.0%	3.9%
Accommodation and food services	4.3%	15.2%	0.5%
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.4%	0.4%	2.9%
Information media and telecommunications	-0.5%	-0.7%	4.8%
Financial and insurance services	-2.4%	-3.8%	10.9%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-2.1%	-1.7%	8.9%
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.5%	-0.6%	10.9%
Administrative and support services	0.0%	1.4%	6.9%
Public administration and safety	-0.4%	-0.1%	5.8%
Education and training	0.9%	2.1%	4.2%
Health care and social assistance	-0.9%	-0.2%	9.6%
Arts and recreation services	5.4%	15.1%	11.1%
Other services	0.5%	2.9%	1.8%
All industries	0.0%	0.8%	7.3%

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

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.

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.

In this release the latest week of data for these indexes is for the week ending 16 October 2021, which is also reflected in the percentage change estimates presented.

Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size(a)(b)
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Under 20 employees	1.8%	1.3%	5.4%
20-199 employees	2.1%	1.6%	-0.4%
200 employees and over	1.6%	1.2%	2.3%
All businesses	1.7%	1.3%	2.4%

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.
With respect to the week ending 16 October 2021.

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, however as at mid-November 2021:

almost no payroll jobs have an unknown state or territory,
less than 0.5% of payroll jobs have an unknown age,
less than 1.5% of payroll jobs have an unknown industry, and
less than 3% of payroll jobs have unknown sex.

For more information on the source and impact of unknowns see the Updating characteristic variables section in How data are processed and Impact of unknown sex section in Data variability and revisions.

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Contains selected distributions of jobholder and employer characteristics, available in this release since 9 September 2021.

Data files

Download xlsx [152.02 KB]

Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [3.24 MB]

Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [297.64 KB]

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [86.01 KB]

Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Contains estimates of payroll jobs by employment size, including state and territory dimension, updated to the week ending 16 October 2021.

Data files

Download xlsx [51.93 KB]

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Contains estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups.

Data files

Download xlsx [58.23 KB]

Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

Contains estimates of payroll jobs by private sector for selected industry divisions, available in this release since 7 October 2021.

Data files

Download xlsx [47.8 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [2.39 MB]

Changes in this release

The following section was updated in this release:

National: Additional index of Australian payroll jobs with New South Wales, Victoria and Australian Capital Territory excluded (Rest of Australia) will no longer be included.

The following sections of the Methodology were updated in this release:

Methods review: Update of employer characteristics
Data variability and revisions: Addition of Impact of unknown sex and update to Revisions in sub-populations
Glossary: New terms added

Upcoming changes to this release

Expansion of outputs

Payroll job outputs will be expanded over 2022. The availability in specific releases is yet to be determined. Expected Data download templates are available on request at labour.statistics@abs.gov.au.

In alphabetical order, the planned outputs are:

Employment size by industry division
Industry division by Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)
Jobholder and employer characteristics distributions
Private sector by state/territory
State by industry subdivision

Previously published articles and information of interest are linked below:

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.

Methodology

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia methodology, Week ending 13 November 2021

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

We can provide customised data to meet your requirements

Request a quote

Microdata and TableBuilder

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics

View available Microdata and TableBuilder

APA

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

APA

Key statistics

Update of employer characteristics

Last interim release

Revisions

National

State and territory

Payroll jobs

State and territory percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 13 November 2021

Total wages

Sub-state - payroll jobs

GCCSA regions percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 13 November 2021

Sex and age group

Impact of unknown sex

Payroll jobs

Total wages

5 year age groups - Payroll jobs

Industry

Payroll jobs

Total wages

Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs

Private sector industry - Payroll jobs

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

Upcoming changes to this release

Expansion of outputs

Previous articles

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Payroll jobs recovery slows in early November

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder