Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

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

Reference period
Week ending 22 May 2021
Released
9/06/2021

Key statistics

Between the weeks ending 8 and 22 May 2021:

  • Payroll jobs increased by 0.3%
  • Total wages paid increased by 0.6%

Updated estimates of payroll jobs by substate regions were included in this release on 9 June 2021.

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
    Table 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs and wages
    In the fortnight since 8 May 2021In the month since 24 Apr 2021In the year since 23 May 2020
    Payroll jobs0.3%0.2%8.8%
    Total wages0.6%-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.

    1. 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%
    Table 2 - Percentage change by states and territories
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021
    New South Wales0.2%2.1%0.9%1.8%
    Victoria0.4%2.2%0.6%5.0%
    Queensland0.6%2.3%0.8%3.3%
    South Australia0.2%3.9%0.5%4.5%
    Western Australia0.1%5.0%-0.1%1.3%
    Tasmania-0.3%1.7%-0.2%1.9%
    Northern Territory0.5%6.0%1.6%6.6%
    Australian Capital Territory0.2%1.7%-0.3%3.9%
    Australia0.3%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

    Loading map...

    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%
    Table 3 - Percentage change by sex (a)
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021
    Males0.4%0.4%0.5%0.7%
    Females0.2%2.0%0.7%5.7%
    All persons0.3%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


     

    1. 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%
    Table 4 - Percentage change by age group
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021
    15-19 year olds1.0%1.6%1.1%5.5%
    20-29 year olds-0.2%0.6%0.3%4.4%
    30-39 year olds0.2%2.8%0.7%3.5%
    40-49 year olds0.6%2.2%0.9%0.7%
    50-59 year olds0.5%3.2%0.6%2.3%
    60-69 year olds0.4%6.9%0.0%7.6%
    Aged 70 years and over0.3%7.0%-0.5%11.2%
    All persons0.3%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%

     

    Table 5 - Percentage change by industry
     Payroll jobs (a) Total wages (a) 
     Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021 (b)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021Change 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%
    Mining1.2%1.2%-0.4%-19.5%
    Manufacturing1.0%-1.7%0.8%-4.8%
    Electricity, gas, water and waste services0.0%1.4%0.8%-3.0%
    Construction-0.2%-0.9%0.8%0.9%
    Wholesale trade0.8%-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 warehousing0.5%-6.8%-1.0%-6.6%
    Information media and telecommunications1.1%-7.4%3.4%-0.2%
    Financial and insurance services1.5%8.4%3.0%1.0%
    Rental, hiring and real estate services0.2%-0.5%-2.3%1.2%
    Professional, scientific and technical services1.9%2.2%4.3%8.0%
    Administrative and support services-0.8%2.8%-0.1%8.8%
    Public administration and safety2.2%12.5%1.7%10.1%
    Education and training2.3%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 industries0.3%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.

    Table 6 - Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size (a)(b)
    Change between 8 May 2021 and 22 May 2021Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 22 May 2021
    Under 20 employees-1.2%0.2%
    20-199 employees0.2%0.1%
    200 employees and over1.3%1.5%
    All businesses0.3%2.6%
    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions
    2. 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:

    Previous catalogue number

    This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

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