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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 16 October 2021

Released

10/11/2021

View all releases

Key statistics

Between the weeks ending 2 October and 16 October 2021:

Payroll jobs, up 1.3%
Total wages paid, down 0.9%

Revisions around the end of financial year

This release sees higher than usual revisions in July, as the 16 week imputation retention threshold passes through the end of the financial year and commencement of Delta lockdowns. This period saw increased lags in reporting in lockdown areas, in addition to higher than usual variability around the end of the financial year. These factors contributed to some over-imputation in July, which is now being removed alongside the receipt of more complete data.

Users should use caution when referring to estimates across July.

Month lag in employment size indexes introduced

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. A month lag in the reference week has been introduced to provide more stability at the end point of these series. In this release, the latest week of data for these indexes is for the week ending 11 September 2021.

Interim updates between monthly releases

The next release of 'Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia, Interim' will be released on Thursday 25 November 2021. It will include updated national and state and territory payroll job estimates up to the week ending 30 October 2021.

National

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021:

Payroll jobs increased by 1.3%, compared to a decrease of 0.5% in the previous fortnight
Total wages paid decreased by 0.9%, compared to a decrease of 3.6% in the previous fortnight

Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Payroll jobs	1.3%	0.9%	0.5%
Total wages	-0.9%	-4.5%	6.6%

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)
17-Oct-20	100.5	98.5
24-Oct-20	100.8	98.0
31-Oct-20	101.0	98.0
07-Nov-20	101.5	99.3
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	103.5	103.9
19-Dec-20	102.7	103.8
26-Dec-20	98.9	98.3
02-Jan-21	96.1	94.8
09-Jan-21	97.4	95.7
16-Jan-21	99.6	97.8
23-Jan-21	100.6	98.3
30-Jan-21	101.1	98.7
06-Feb-21	101.6	102.4
13-Feb-21	102.3	103.5
20-Feb-21	102.6	103.6
27-Feb-21	103.1	104.2
06-Mar-21	103.2	104.8
13-Mar-21	103.6	104.9
20-Mar-21	103.8	104.8
27-Mar-21	103.6	105.2
03-Apr-21	102.6	104.5
10-Apr-21	102.3	102.9
17-Apr-21	102.6	103.3
24-Apr-21	102.9	102.9
01-May-21	103.2	103.3
08-May-21	103.6	102.6
15-May-21	103.8	103.0
22-May-21	104.0	103.0
29-May-21	103.7	102.5
05-Jun-21	103.2	103.7
12-Jun-21	103.4	104.7
19-Jun-21	103.5	105.6
26-Jun-21	103.0	106.5
03-Jul-21	102.1	105.7
10-Jul-21	102.1	103.8
17-Jul-21	101.8	103.1
24-Jul-21	101.6	102.9
31-Jul-21	101.9	103.2
07-Aug-21	101.9	104.3
14-Aug-21	102.0	104.5
21-Aug-21	101.2	104.1
28-Aug-21	100.4	103.7
04-Sep-21	99.9	107.3
11-Sep-21	99.8	109.5
18-Sep-21	100.1	110.0
25-Sep-21	99.9	108.3
02-Oct-21	99.7	106.0
09-Oct-21	100.0	104.4
16-Oct-21	101.0	105.0

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

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

[["17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20","07-Nov-20","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"],[[100.5],[100.8],[101],[101.5],[102.2],[102.59999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103.40000000000001],[103.5],[102.7],[98.900000000000006],[96.099999999999994],[97.400000000000006],[99.599999999999994],[100.59999999999999],[101.09999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[102.3],[102.59999999999999],[103.09999999999999],[103.2],[103.59999999999999],[103.8],[103.59999999999999],[102.59999999999999],[102.3],[102.59999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103.2],[103.59999999999999],[103.8],[104],[103.7],[103.2],[103.40000000000001],[103.5],[103],[102.09999999999999],[102.09999999999999],[101.8],[101.59999999999999],[101.90000000000001],[101.90000000000001],[102],[101.2],[100.40000000000001],[99.900000000000006],[99.799999999999997],[100.09999999999999],[99.900000000000006],[99.700000000000003],[100],[101]],[[98.5],[98],[98],[99.299999999999997],[100.2],[100.3],[101.59999999999999],[103.3],[103.90000000000001],[103.8],[98.299999999999997],[94.799999999999997],[95.700000000000003],[97.799999999999997],[98.299999999999997],[98.700000000000003],[102.40000000000001],[103.5],[103.59999999999999],[104.2],[104.8],[104.90000000000001],[104.8],[105.2],[104.5],[102.90000000000001],[103.3],[102.90000000000001],[103.3],[102.59999999999999],[103],[103],[102.5],[103.7],[104.7],[105.59999999999999],[106.5],[105.7],[103.8],[103.09999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103.2],[104.3],[104.5],[104.09999999999999],[103.7],[107.3],[109.5],[110],[108.3],[106],[104.40000000000001],[105]]]

[]

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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.

State and territory

Payroll jobs

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

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

New South Wales, up 3.5%
Australian Capital Territory, up 2.3%

State and territory percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 16 October 2021

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to 16 October 2021, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address.

- New South Wales (3.5%)
- Victoria (0.8%)
- Queensland (0.4%)
- South Australia (-0.3%)
- Western Australia (-0.1%)
- Tasmania (-0.4%)
- Northern Territory (-0.2%)
- Australian Capital Territory (2.3%)

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
New South Wales	3.5%	3.7%	-2.8%
Victoria	0.8%	0.1%	0.2%
Queensland	0.4%	-0.6%	3.1%
South Australia	-0.3%	-0.9%	2.7%
Western Australia	-0.1%	-0.7%	5.1%
Tasmania	-0.4%	-0.6%	2.3%
Northern Territory	-0.2%	-0.5%	6.2%
Australian Capital Territory	2.3%	2.4%	-7.6%
Australia	1.3%	0.9%	0.5%

An additional index of Australian payroll jobs with New South Wales, Victoria and Australian Capital Territory excluded (Rest of Australia) is available below, providing alternative insights into the period of increased COVID-19 restrictions in those regions.

Payroll jobs index by selected geography(a)
Week ending	New South Wales (pts)	Victoria (pts)	Australian Capital Territory (pts)	Rest of Australia (pts)
17-Oct-20	101.8	97.1	101.4	101.7
24-Oct-20	102.1	97.5	101.9	102.0
31-Oct-20	102.0	98.3	101.3	101.9
07-Nov-20	102.3	99.0	101.3	102.3
14-Nov-20	103.0	100.1	101.7	103.0
21-Nov-20	103.6	100.6	102.0	103.1
28-Nov-20	103.7	101.2	102.1	103.3
05-Dec-20	103.9	102.0	102.6	104.0
12-Dec-20	103.9	102.2	102.3	104.1
19-Dec-20	103.1	101.7	102.0	103.0
26-Dec-20	99.5	98.0	98.1	98.9
02-Jan-21	96.5	95.5	95.2	96.1
09-Jan-21	97.9	96.2	96.3	97.9
16-Jan-21	100.1	98.2	98.6	100.1
23-Jan-21	101.1	99.3	99.8	101.1
30-Jan-21	101.6	100.0	100.3	101.5
06-Feb-21	102.1	100.8	101.0	101.7
13-Feb-21	102.9	101.3	101.7	102.6
20-Feb-21	103.0	101.7	101.9	103.0
27-Feb-21	103.3	102.2	102.4	103.4
06-Mar-21	103.6	102.3	102.5	103.6
13-Mar-21	104.0	102.8	102.8	103.9
20-Mar-21	104.0	103.0	102.6	104.0
27-Mar-21	103.9	102.8	102.7	103.9
03-Apr-21	103.1	101.8	101.8	102.9
10-Apr-21	102.4	101.5	101.6	102.7
17-Apr-21	102.8	101.5	101.8	103.1
24-Apr-21	103.1	102.1	102.1	103.2
01-May-21	103.4	102.6	102.5	103.5
08-May-21	103.6	103.0	102.7	104.0
15-May-21	103.8	103.2	102.6	104.3
22-May-21	104.0	103.3	102.8	104.4
29-May-21	104.0	102.3	102.5	104.4
05-Jun-21	103.9	100.6	102.4	104.3
12-Jun-21	104.0	101.1	102.6	104.4
19-Jun-21	103.7	101.9	102.2	104.4
26-Jun-21	102.7	101.9	101.9	104.0
03-Jul-21	100.3	102.0	102.1	103.7
10-Jul-21	99.4	102.1	102.0	104.2
17-Jul-21	98.5	101.8	101.7	104.4
24-Jul-21	97.7	101.2	102.3	104.9
31-Jul-21	97.0	102.6	103.1	105.2
07-Aug-21	97.0	103.3	103.2	104.9
14-Aug-21	96.8	102.4	102.7	105.8
21-Aug-21	95.8	100.6	96.9	106.2
28-Aug-21	95.1	98.8	92.8	106.1
04-Sep-21	94.8	97.2	91.2	106.1
11-Sep-21	94.9	97.1	90.8	106.0
18-Sep-21	95.4	97.3	91.5	106.1
25-Sep-21	95.5	96.7	91.5	105.8
02-Oct-21	95.6	96.5	91.5	105.3
09-Oct-21	96.8	96.7	92.2	105.0
16-Oct-21	98.9	97.3	93.7	105.4

Payroll jobs index by selected geography(a)

["Week ending","New South Wales","Victoria","Australian Capital Territory","Rest of Australia"]

[["17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20","07-Nov-20","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"],[[101.8],[102.09999999999999],[102],[102.3],[103],[103.59999999999999],[103.7],[103.90000000000001],[103.90000000000001],[103.09999999999999],[99.5],[96.5],[97.900000000000006],[100.09999999999999],[101.09999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[102.09999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103],[103.3],[103.59999999999999],[104],[104],[103.90000000000001],[103.09999999999999],[102.40000000000001],[102.8],[103.09999999999999],[103.40000000000001],[103.59999999999999],[103.8],[104],[104],[103.90000000000001],[104],[103.7],[102.7],[100.3],[99.400000000000006],[98.5],[97.700000000000003],[97],[97],[96.799999999999997],[95.799999999999997],[95.099999999999994],[94.799999999999997],[94.900000000000006],[95.400000000000006],[95.5],[95.599999999999994],[96.799999999999997],[98.900000000000006]],[[97.099999999999994],[97.5],[98.299999999999997],[99],[100.09999999999999],[100.59999999999999],[101.2],[102],[102.2],[101.7],[98],[95.5],[96.200000000000003],[98.200000000000003],[99.299999999999997],[100],[100.8],[101.3],[101.7],[102.2],[102.3],[102.8],[103],[102.8],[101.8],[101.5],[101.5],[102.09999999999999],[102.59999999999999],[103],[103.2],[103.3],[102.3],[100.59999999999999],[101.09999999999999],[101.90000000000001],[101.90000000000001],[102],[102.09999999999999],[101.8],[101.2],[102.59999999999999],[103.3],[102.40000000000001],[100.59999999999999],[98.799999999999997],[97.200000000000003],[97.099999999999994],[97.299999999999997],[96.700000000000003],[96.5],[96.700000000000003],[97.299999999999997]],[[101.40000000000001],[101.90000000000001],[101.3],[101.3],[101.7],[102],[102.09999999999999],[102.59999999999999],[102.3],[102],[98.099999999999994],[95.200000000000003],[96.299999999999997],[98.599999999999994],[99.799999999999997],[100.3],[101],[101.7],[101.90000000000001],[102.40000000000001],[102.5],[102.8],[102.59999999999999],[102.7],[101.8],[101.59999999999999],[101.8],[102.09999999999999],[102.5],[102.7],[102.59999999999999],[102.8],[102.5],[102.40000000000001],[102.59999999999999],[102.2],[101.90000000000001],[102.09999999999999],[102],[101.7],[102.3],[103.09999999999999],[103.2],[102.7],[96.900000000000006],[92.799999999999997],[91.200000000000003],[90.799999999999997],[91.5],[91.5],[91.5],[92.200000000000003],[93.700000000000003]],[[101.7],[102],[101.90000000000001],[102.3],[103],[103.09999999999999],[103.3],[104],[104.09999999999999],[103],[98.900000000000006],[96.099999999999994],[97.900000000000006],[100.09999999999999],[101.09999999999999],[101.5],[101.7],[102.59999999999999],[103],[103.40000000000001],[103.59999999999999],[103.90000000000001],[104],[103.90000000000001],[102.90000000000001],[102.7],[103.09999999999999],[103.2],[103.5],[104],[104.3],[104.40000000000001],[104.40000000000001],[104.3],[104.40000000000001],[104.40000000000001],[104],[103.7],[104.2],[104.40000000000001],[104.90000000000001],[105.2],[104.90000000000001],[105.8],[106.2],[106.09999999999999],[106.09999999999999],[106],[106.09999999999999],[105.8],[105.3],[105],[105.40000000000001]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Index","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(pts)","table_units":"(pts)","axis_min":"88","axis_max":"112","tick_interval":"4","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 16 October 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

South Australia, down 3.1%
Western Australia, down 2.5%

Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
New South Wales	-0.1%	-4.9%	4.1%
Victoria	-0.6%	-5.2%	7.4%
Queensland	-1.0%	-4.5%	7.8%
South Australia	-3.1%	-4.3%	5.8%
Western Australia	-2.5%	-3.2%	10.9%
Tasmania	-1.1%	-2.5%	6.4%
Northern Territory	0.0%	-0.2%	9.7%
Australian Capital Territory	0.0%	-1.4%	2.1%
Australia	-0.9%	-4.5%	6.6%

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 16 October 2021

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to 16 October 2021, by the GCCSA region of the jobholder's residential address.
- Greater Sydney (3.3%)
- Rest of New South Wales (3.5%)
- Greater Melbourne (0.8%)
- Rest of Victoria (0.8%)
- Greater Brisbane (0.4%)
- Rest of Queensland (0.3%)
- Greater Adelaide (-0.2%)
- Rest of South Australia (-0.5%)
- Greater Perth (-0.1%)
- Rest of Western Australia (0.0%)
- Greater Hobart (-0.4%)
- Rest of Tasmania (-0.3%)
- Greater Darwin (-0.2%)
- Rest of Northern Territory (-0.3%)
- Australian Capital Territory (2.3%)

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

Sex and age group

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

worked by males, up 1.4%
worked by persons aged 15-19, up 2.9%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by sex and age group (a)
		In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Sex	Males	1.4%	0.8%	-1.0%
Sex	Females	1.3%	0.9%	-0.8%
Age group (years)	15-19	2.9%	3.0%	0.0%
	20-29	1.5%	1.2%	-1.1%
	30-39	1.2%	0.7%	1.1%
	40-49	1.2%	0.6%	0.7%
	50-59	1.1%	0.6%	0.8%
	60-69	1.1%	0.6%	1.6%
	70 and over	1.2%	0.8%	0.5%
All persons		1.3%	0.9%	0.5%

a. Persons with 'unknown' sex and age are only included in the calculation of All persons indexes. For more information, see Data components, totals and index calculation in Data variability and revisions.

Payroll jobs by sex(a)
Week ending	Males (pts)	Females (pts)
17-Oct-20	100.4	99.8
24-Oct-20	100.5	100.3
31-Oct-20	100.5	100.6
07-Nov-20	100.9	101.1
14-Nov-20	101.6	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	102.5	103.0
19-Dec-20	101.5	102.2
26-Dec-20	97.5	98.6
02-Jan-21	94.9	95.8
09-Jan-21	96.6	96.6
16-Jan-21	99.0	98.4
23-Jan-21	100.0	99.4
30-Jan-21	100.3	100.0
06-Feb-21	100.8	100.5
13-Feb-21	101.4	101.3
20-Feb-21	101.5	101.7
27-Feb-21	101.8	102.2
06-Mar-21	101.8	102.4
13-Mar-21	102.2	102.8
20-Mar-21	102.2	102.9
27-Mar-21	102.0	102.7
03-Apr-21	101.2	101.7
10-Apr-21	100.8	101.2
17-Apr-21	101.2	101.2
24-Apr-21	101.3	101.7
01-May-21	101.5	102.1
08-May-21	101.7	102.6
15-May-21	101.9	102.7
22-May-21	102.0	103.0
29-May-21	101.7	102.6
05-Jun-21	101.2	102.1
12-Jun-21	101.3	102.2
19-Jun-21	101.2	102.5
26-Jun-21	100.7	102.0
03-Jul-21	100.0	100.9
10-Jul-21	100.4	100.4
17-Jul-21	100.2	100.1
24-Jul-21	99.8	100.0
31-Jul-21	99.7	100.6
07-Aug-21	99.9	100.5
14-Aug-21	100.0	100.4
21-Aug-21	99.6	99.4
28-Aug-21	99.0	98.4
04-Sep-21	98.4	97.9
11-Sep-21	98.4	97.9
18-Sep-21	98.7	98.1
25-Sep-21	98.4	97.9
02-Oct-21	98.1	97.8
09-Oct-21	98.5	98.0
16-Oct-21	99.4	99.0

Payroll jobs by sex(a)

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

[["17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20","07-Nov-20","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"],[[100.40000000000001],[100.5],[100.5],[100.90000000000001],[101.59999999999999],[101.8],[102],[102.40000000000001],[102.5],[101.5],[97.5],[94.900000000000006],[96.599999999999994],[99],[100],[100.3],[100.8],[101.40000000000001],[101.5],[101.8],[101.8],[102.2],[102.2],[102],[101.2],[100.8],[101.2],[101.3],[101.5],[101.7],[101.90000000000001],[102],[101.7],[101.2],[101.3],[101.2],[100.7],[100],[100.40000000000001],[100.2],[99.799999999999997],[99.700000000000003],[99.900000000000006],[100],[99.599999999999994],[99],[98.400000000000006],[98.400000000000006],[98.700000000000003],[98.400000000000006],[98.099999999999994],[98.5],[99.400000000000006]],[[99.799999999999997],[100.3],[100.59999999999999],[101.09999999999999],[101.8],[102.2],[102.5],[103],[103],[102.2],[98.599999999999994],[95.799999999999997],[96.599999999999994],[98.400000000000006],[99.400000000000006],[100],[100.5],[101.3],[101.7],[102.2],[102.40000000000001],[102.8],[102.90000000000001],[102.7],[101.7],[101.2],[101.2],[101.7],[102.09999999999999],[102.59999999999999],[102.7],[103],[102.59999999999999],[102.09999999999999],[102.2],[102.5],[102],[100.90000000000001],[100.40000000000001],[100.09999999999999],[100],[100.59999999999999],[100.5],[100.40000000000001],[99.400000000000006],[98.400000000000006],[97.900000000000006],[97.900000000000006],[98.099999999999994],[97.900000000000006],[97.799999999999997],[98],[99]]]

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Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

worked by females, down 1.0%
worked by persons aged 15-19, up 3.1%

Percentage change in total wages, by sex and age group (a)
		In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Sex	Males	-0.9%	-5.5%	5.5%
Sex	Females	-1.0%	-3.4%	6.6%
Age group (years)	15-19	3.1%	6.8%	8.8%
	20-29	2.4%	0.2%	6.4%
	30-39	-1.0%	-4.6%	6.8%
	40-49	-2.0%	-7.2%	6.2%
	50-59	-1.8%	-5.8%	6.4%
	60-69	-1.6%	-3.0%	7.7%
	70 and over	-1.6%	-2.4%	8.1%
All persons		-0.9%	-4.5%	6.6%

Industry

Payroll jobs

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Accommodation and food services, up 5.6%
Arts and recreation services, up 4.8%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-2.2%	-2.8%	-4.9%
Mining	0.0%	0.1%	2.4%
Manufacturing	0.3%	0.1%	-2.1%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.1%	-0.3%	3.6%
Construction	2.3%	-0.6%	-1.9%
Wholesale trade	0.4%	0.1%	-1.4%
Retail trade	3.0%	4.4%	-2.0%
Accommodation and food services	5.6%	6.1%	-12.6%
Transport, postal and warehousing	2.1%	0.2%	-5.7%
Information media and telecommunications	1.4%	0.1%	-7.4%
Financial and insurance services	0.6%	0.1%	6.5%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.2%	-0.3%	0.2%
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.1%	-1.0%	3.8%
Administrative and support services	0.9%	0.2%	0.3%
Public administration and safety	0.8%	0.7%	6.0%
Education and training	1.8%	0.4%	-0.7%
Health care and social assistance	0.3%	-0.1%	3.2%
Arts and recreation services	4.8%	6.3%	-12.0%
Other services	1.6%	1.0%	-4.8%
All industries	1.3%	0.9%	0.5%

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry(a)
	Fortnight to 16 October 2021 (%)	Fortnight to 2 October 2021 (%)
Accommodation and food services	5.6	0.4
Arts and recreation services	4.8	1.5
Retail trade	3.0	1.4
Construction	2.3	-2.8
Transport, postal and warehousing	2.1	-1.9
Education and training	1.8	-1.4
Other services	1.6	-0.6
Information media and telecommunications	1.4	-1.2
Administrative and support services	0.9	-0.7
Public administration and safety	0.8	-0.1
Financial and insurance services	0.6	-0.4
Wholesale trade	0.4	-0.3
Manufacturing	0.3	-0.2
Health care and social assistance	0.3	-0.4
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.2	-0.5
Mining	0.0	0.0
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.1	-0.9
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.1	-0.2
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-2.2	-0.6

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry(a)

["","Fortnight to 16 October 2021","Fortnight to 2 October 2021"]

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Industries ranked by percentage change in the latest fortnight.

Total wages

In the fortnight to 16 October 2021, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

Electricity, gas, water and waste services, down 7.9%
Mining, down 7.4%

Percentage change in total wages, by industry(a)
	In the fortnight since 2 October 2021	In the month since 18 September 2021	In the year since 17 October 2020
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-2.5%	-3.1%	3.5%
Mining	-7.4%	-4.9%	10.1%
Manufacturing	-0.7%	-4.6%	3.7%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-7.9%	-12.7%	6.2%
Construction	6.1%	-1.1%	2.4%
Wholesale trade	-1.8%	-4.1%	5.7%
Retail trade	-1.5%	-4.2%	2.9%
Accommodation and food services	6.4%	9.8%	-9.7%
Transport, postal and warehousing	-0.8%	-7.1%	2.2%
Information media and telecommunications	-1.1%	-20.7%	-2.0%
Financial and insurance services	-4.3%	-25.9%	9.8%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-4.4%	-6.8%	7.1%
Professional, scientific and technical services	-1.9%	-1.9%	13.6%
Administrative and support services	-1.8%	-2.8%	10.7%
Public administration and safety	0.2%	0.5%	9.5%
Education and training	0.7%	-0.3%	2.3%
Health care and social assistance	-1.3%	-1.2%	4.5%
Arts and recreation services	2.0%	2.7%	-2.4%
Other services	0.4%	0.8%	3.3%
All industries	-0.9%	-4.5%	6.6%

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

As of this release, the graph presenting payroll jobs by employment size will no longer be included. The source data continues to be available in Table 7 of the Data downloads.

Recent movements in payroll jobs by employment size are subject to higher than usual levels of revision (over a longer period) than other estimates. This is particularly the case for estimates around the end of the financial year in 2021.

Additional reporting from small employers (under 20 employees) is expected to flow through from early July, due to the conclusion of STP reporting concessions. This will result in additional volatility and revisions for this employer group until regular reporting patterns are established.

To provide more stability at the end point of these series, a month lag in the reference week has been introduced. In this release, percentage change estimates reflect the week ending 11 September 2021.

Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size(a)(b)
	In the fortnight since 28 August 2021	In the month since 14 August 2021	In the year since 12 September 2020
Under 20 employees	-0.8%	-2.9%	-1.3%
20-199 employees	-0.8%	-2.3%	-1.0%
200 employees and over	-0.6%	-1.9%	-1.6%
All businesses	-0.6%	-2.1%	-0.4%

Records with 'unknown' employment size are only included in the calculation of All businesses indexes. For more information, see Data components, totals and index calculation in Data variability and revisions.
With respect to the week ending 11 September 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:

almost no payroll jobs have an unknown state or territory,
less than 0.5% of payroll jobs have an unknown age,
less than 1% of payroll jobs have an unknown industry, and
less than 2% of payroll jobs have unknown sex.

For more information on unknowns see Updating characteristic variables in How data are processed.

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 [148.3 KB]

Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [3.13 MB]

Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [289.14 KB]

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [84.2 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 11 September 2021.

Data files

Download xlsx [51.38 KB]

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Contains estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups.

Data files

Download xlsx [57.45 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 [47.4 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [2.38 MB]

Changes in this release

The following section was updated in this release:

Employment size: graph presenting payroll jobs by employment size no longer included

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

How data are processed: new subsection on Aggregate adjustments
How data are processed: updated text in Accuracy subsection
How data are processed: text relocated from Data variability and revision section to retitled subsection on Inclusion of unknown characteristics
Data variability and revisions: renamed in addition to some text relocation and removal

Upcoming changes to this release

Expansion of outputs

Payroll job outputs will be expanded over 2021-22. 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 16 October 2021

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APA

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

APA

Key statistics

Revisions around the end of financial year

Month lag in employment size indexes introduced

Interim updates between monthly releases

National

State and territory

Payroll jobs

State and territory percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 16 October 2021

Total wages

Sub-state - payroll jobs

GCCSA regions percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 16 October 2021

Sex and age group

Payroll jobs

Total wages

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 rise 1.3% as lockdowns ease

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Microdata and TableBuilder