Updated estimates of payroll jobs by substate regions were included in this release on 9 June 2021.
Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia
Payroll jobs and wages estimates, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data
Key statistics
Between the weeks ending 8 and 22 May 2021:
- Payroll jobs increased by 0.3%
- Total wages paid increased by 0.6%
National
In the fortnight up to the week ending 22 May 2021:
- Payroll jobs increased by 0.3%, compared to a decrease of 0.1% in the previous fortnight
- Total wages paid increased by 0.6%, compared to a decrease of 1.2% in the previous fortnight
In the fortnight since 8 May 2021 | In the month since 24 Apr 2021 | In the year since 23 May 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|
Payroll jobs | 0.3% | 0.2% | 8.8% |
Total wages | 0.6% | -0.6% | 11.5% |
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.
- Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
State and territory
All geographical areas in this release represent the residential address of the jobholder.
The largest changes in states and territories in the fortnight up to the week ending 22 May 2021 were:
Payroll jobs:
- Queensland increased by 0.6%
- Northern Territory increased by 0.5%
Total wages:
- Northern Territory increased by 1.6%
- New South Wales increased by 0.9%
Payroll jobs | Total wages | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | |
New South Wales | 0.2% | 2.1% | 0.9% | 1.8% |
Victoria | 0.4% | 2.2% | 0.6% | 5.0% |
Queensland | 0.6% | 2.3% | 0.8% | 3.3% |
South Australia | 0.2% | 3.9% | 0.5% | 4.5% |
Western Australia | 0.1% | 5.0% | -0.1% | 1.3% |
Tasmania | -0.3% | 1.7% | -0.2% | 1.9% |
Northern Territory | 0.5% | 6.0% | 1.6% | 6.6% |
Australian Capital Territory | 0.2% | 1.7% | -0.3% | 3.9% |
Australia | 0.3% | 2.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
Map 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 22 May 2021
This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to 22 May 2021, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address.
- New South Wales (0.2%)
- Victoria (0.4%)
- Queensland (0.6%)
- South Australia (0.2%)
- Western Australia (0.1%)
- Tasmania (-0.3%)
- Northern Territory (0.5%)
- Australian Capital Territory (0.2%)
Sub-state - payroll jobs
Time series estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions, Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Statistical Area 3 (SA3), are presented as index values through to the week ending 22 May 2021 in Table 5 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases.
For more information on the geography used in this release, see the Glossary.
Sex
In the fortnight up to the week ending 22 May 2021:
Payroll jobs:
- Worked by males increased by 0.4%
- Worked by females increased by 0.2%
Total wages:
- Payments to females increased by 0.7%
- Payments to males increased by 0.5%
Payroll jobs | Total wages | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | |
Males | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
Females | 0.2% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 5.7% |
All persons | 0.3% | 2.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
a. Indexes for males and females can move independently from All persons indexes due to the inclusion of persons with 'unknown' sex in the calculation of the All persons index. For more information see the Data components, total and index calculation section in Data limitations and revisions.
b. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
- Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
Age group
The largest changes in age groups in the fortnight up to the week ending 22 May 2021 were:
Payroll jobs:
- Worked by people aged 15-19 increased by 1.0%
- Worked by people aged 40-49 increased by 0.6%
Total wages:
- Payments to people aged 15-19 increased by 1.1%
- Payments to people aged 40-49 increased by 0.9%
Payroll jobs | Total wages | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | |
15-19 year olds | 1.0% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 5.5% |
20-29 year olds | -0.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 4.4% |
30-39 year olds | 0.2% | 2.8% | 0.7% | 3.5% |
40-49 year olds | 0.6% | 2.2% | 0.9% | 0.7% |
50-59 year olds | 0.5% | 3.2% | 0.6% | 2.3% |
60-69 year olds | 0.4% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 7.6% |
Aged 70 years and over | 0.3% | 7.0% | -0.5% | 11.2% |
All persons | 0.3% | 2.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
5 year age groups
Time series estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups (presented as index values) up to the week ending 22 May 2021 are available in Table 8 of the Data downloads.
Industry
The largest changes in industries in the fortnight up to the week ending 22 May 2021 were:
Payroll jobs:
- Education and training increased by 2.3%
- Public administration and safety increased by 2.2%.
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 2.2%
Total wages:
- Professional, scientific and technical services increased by 4.3%
- Information media and telecommunications increased by 3.4%
Payroll jobs (a) | Total wages (a) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b) | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | |
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | -2.2% | -3.2% | -2.1% | 1.9% |
Mining | 1.2% | 1.2% | -0.4% | -19.5% |
Manufacturing | 1.0% | -1.7% | 0.8% | -4.8% |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 0.0% | 1.4% | 0.8% | -3.0% |
Construction | -0.2% | -0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
Wholesale trade | 0.8% | -1.0% | 0.0% | -5.1% |
Retail trade | -0.6% | -2.4% | -2.5% | -1.5% |
Accommodation and food services | -0.1% | -9.8% | -0.7% | -5.6% |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 0.5% | -6.8% | -1.0% | -6.6% |
Information media and telecommunications | 1.1% | -7.4% | 3.4% | -0.2% |
Financial and insurance services | 1.5% | 8.4% | 3.0% | 1.0% |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 0.2% | -0.5% | -2.3% | 1.2% |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 1.9% | 2.2% | 4.3% | 8.0% |
Administrative and support services | -0.8% | 2.8% | -0.1% | 8.8% |
Public administration and safety | 2.2% | 12.5% | 1.7% | 10.1% |
Education and training | 2.3% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 3.7% |
Health care and social assistance | -1.1% | 5.0% | -1.1% | 6.9% |
Arts and recreation services | -0.4% | -1.6% | -0.2% | -1.1% |
Other services | -0.6% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 7.2% |
All industries | 0.3% | 2.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
a. Some industries experience pronounced seasonality in either payroll jobs and wages or both. For more information, refer to the seasonality section of Data limitations and revisions.
b. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs
Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision (presented as index values) up to the week ending 8 May 2021 are available in Table 6 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases.
For more information on the industry classifications used in this release, see the Glossary.
Employment size
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 small employers (with under 20 employees). Further information is presented on the impact of revisions on the small employers index, in Variation in revisions in Data limitations and revisions.
Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 | Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021 | |
---|---|---|
Under 20 employees | -1.2% | 0.2% |
20-199 employees | 0.2% | 0.1% |
200 employees and over | 1.3% | 1.5% |
All businesses | 0.3% | 2.6% |
- Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
- Indexes for employment size groups can move independently from All businesses indexes due to the inclusion of records with 'unknown' employment size in the calculation of All businesses. For more information see Data components, totals and index calculation in Data limitations and revisions.
Data downloads
Table 1: National spotlight
Table 2: State and territory spotlight
Table 3: Industry spotlight
Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes
Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes
These estimates are updated in alternate releases. They were updated to the week ending 22 May 2021 on Wednesday 9 June 2021.
Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes
These estimates are updated in alternate releases. They were last updated on Wednesday 26 May 2021 and will next be updated on Tuesday 22 June 2021.
Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index
Contains estimates of payroll jobs by employment size, including state and territory dimension.
Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index
Contains estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups, available in this release since 3 March 2021.
All data cubes
Changes in this release
The following sections of the Methodology were updated in this release:
- How data are collected: Scope and coverage
- Data limitations and revisions: Seasonality
Previous articles
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.