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 10 June 2023
Released
13/07/2023

Key statistics

Between the weeks ending 13 May 2023 and 10 June 2023:

  • Payroll jobs, up 0.3%
  • Total wages paid, up 0.5%

End of financial year reporting

A greater variation in business reporting occurs around the end of the financial year, as employers finalise their employee's earning information and the financial year is reset in payroll systems. This can result in a higher level of variation in reported estimates during June and July, which consequently can see higher than usual revisions in future releases. 

Alignment with Labour Force Survey reference weeks

Wherever possible the reference date of the most recent estimates align with the end of the second reference week of the Labour Force Survey. Due to greater variation in reported estimates around the end of the financial year, the most recent estimates in this release refer to the week earlier (that is, 10 June rather than 17 June) providing a longer lag between the reference week and release date resulting in a lower level of imputation. 

Upcoming withdrawal of wages estimates

Over the last two years, the ABS has temporarily withdrawn wages estimates from its August release due to incomplete business reporting towards the end of the financial year. With the recent development and release of the new Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator, which will be the ongoing release of earnings statistics from Single Touch Payroll data, wages indexes will be permanently withdrawn from Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia after this issue.  See the Upcoming changes section for more information. 

Future release of Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

The next issue of the Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator is planned for the 21 November 2023. It will include the six calendar month reference periods of April through September 2023.

Factors affecting interpretation

Revisions

Change periods

National

    In the month to 10 June 2023:

    • Payroll jobs increased by 0.3%, compared to an increase of 1.1% in the previous month
    • Total wages paid increased by 0.5%, compared to a decrease of 0.9% in the previous month
    Percentage change in payroll jobs and total wages
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    Payroll jobs0.10.34.7
    Total wages0.50.59.0

    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.

    1. Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020.
    2. 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 month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

    • Northern Territory, up 0.9%
    • South Australia, up 0.6%
    Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    New South Wales0.00.24.4
    Victoria0.00.34.8
    Queensland0.20.34.7
    South Australia0.50.64.8
    Western Australia0.10.35.8
    Tasmania0.1-0.24.2
    Northern Territory0.20.95.6
    Australian Capital Territory0.40.33.8
    Australia0.10.34.7

    Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

    Loading map...

    This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the month up to 10 June 2023, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address. 

    Total wages

    In the month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

    • Queensland, up 1.5%
    • South Australia, up 1.1%
    Percentage change in total wages, by state and territory
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    New South Wales0.10.78.1
    Victoria0.2-0.58.8
    Queensland1.51.510.2
    South Australia1.01.17.8
    Western Australia0.90.911.1
    Tasmania0.3-0.57.9
    Northern Territory-0.3-0.310.0
    Australian Capital Territory0.5-1.07.4
    Australia0.50.59.0

    Sub-state - payroll jobs

    The jobholder characteristic of sub-state geography is primarily sourced from the Client Register and as the snapshot ages, sees a higher proportion of unknowns than some other characteristics. State and territory level indexes are not affected by this issue as that characteristic is also sourced from STP data. 

    The current Client Register snapshot used to source sub-state geography was taken in mid-2021 and implemented in these estimates in February 2022. In mid-June 2023, the proportion of jobholders with unknown sub-state geography is around 6.1%. As such, the ABS recommends that care be exercised when using these indexes to make long term comparisons. 

    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

    Loading map...

    This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the month up to 10 June 2023, by the GCCSA region of the jobholder's residential address. 

    Footnotes

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

    Sex and age group

    Payroll jobs

    In mid-June 2023, the proportion of jobholders with unknown sex has risen to 6.4%. These jobholders are not evenly distributed, hence this proportion differs across detailed indexes which include sex, and can affect comparisons over time. Indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex are particularly impacted by rising proportions of unknown sex. See the historical Methods review section on the Update of jobholder characteristics for more information. 

    The increasingly high proportion of unknown sex resulted in the withdrawal of indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex in the release of 11 May 2023.

    In the month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

    • worked by females, up 0.3%
    • worked by persons aged 70 and over, up 1.9%
    Percentage change in payroll jobs, by sex and age group (a)
      Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    SexMales-0.2-0.20.2
    Females0.20.31.7
    Age group (years)15-19-1.5-1.21.9
    20-29-0.10.15.1
    30-390.20.55.2
    40-490.20.44.5
    50-590.20.33.5
    60-690.90.96.7
    70 and over1.91.98.1
    All persons 0.10.34.7

    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.

    Total wages

    In the month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

    • worked by females, up 1.1%
    • worked by persons aged 15-19, down 5.5%
    Percentage change in payroll wages, by sex and age group (a)
      Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    SexMales0.40.16.5
    Females1.01.17.6
    Age group (years)15-19-6.3-5.512.0
    20-290.00.29.4
    30-390.40.69.2
    40-490.90.98.9
    50-590.90.77.9
    60-691.50.910.0
    70 and over3.03.411.0
    All persons 0.50.59.0

    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 month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

    • Education and training, up 1.7%
    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing, down 1.0%
    Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a)
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    Agriculture, forestry and fishing-0.4-1.0-3.7
    Mining0.30.610.5
    Manufacturing0.2-0.11.0
    Electricity, gas, water and waste services0.10.34.5
    Construction-0.20.31.6
    Wholesale trade0.0-0.33.6
    Retail trade-0.10.01.9
    Accommodation and food services-0.3-0.6-3.4
    Transport, postal and warehousing-0.3-0.41.9
    Information media and telecommunications0.2-0.12.6
    Financial and insurance services0.50.54.9
    Rental, hiring and real estate services-0.4-0.50.4
    Professional, scientific and technical services0.10.62.0
    Administrative and support services-0.2-0.20.6
    Public administration and safety0.50.63.2
    Education and training0.71.76.3
    Health care and social assistance0.30.76.0
    Arts and recreation services-0.2-0.86.7
    Other services0.00.12.1
    All industries0.10.34.7
    1. Some industries experience pronounced seasonality in either payroll jobs and wages or both. For more information, see Seasonality in Data variability and revisions.

    1. Industries ranked by percentage change in the latest month.

    Total wages

    In the month to 10 June 2023, the largest changes in total wages paid were:

    • Information media and telecommunications, up 6.5%
    • Mining, up 2.7%
    Percentage change in total wages, by industry (a)
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    Agriculture, forestry and fishing-0.1-1.62.8
    Mining2.82.717.9
    Manufacturing0.50.45.7
    Electricity, gas, water and waste services0.30.311.1
    Construction-2.1-1.58.9
    Wholesale trade1.81.111.0
    Retail trade2.62.59.2
    Accommodation and food services0.2-2.1-0.1
    Transport, postal and warehousing1.21.212.4
    Information media and telecommunications5.56.53.8
    Financial and insurance services-2.81.79.8
    Rental, hiring and real estate services1.61.31.4
    Professional, scientific and technical services0.8-0.74.6
    Administrative and support services-0.4-1.66.2
    Public administration and safety0.0-0.34.2
    Education and training0.92.510.1
    Health care and social assistance1.01.06.7
    Arts and recreation services1.00.78.0
    Other services-0.5-1.96.1
    All industries0.50.59.0
    1. 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

    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 13 May 2023 and:

    • 29 April 2023, for fortnight

    • 15 April 2023, for month

    • 14 May 2022, for year

    In the month to 13 May 2023, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

    • 20-199 employees, up 1.4%
    Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size, for the week ending 13 May 2023 (a)
    Fortnight (%)Month (%)Year (%)
    0-19 employees-0.10.67.1
    20-199 employees0.61.42.6
    200 employees and over0.81.35.4
    All businesses0.51.15.2
    1. 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 downloads

    Indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex have been withdrawn (since the 11 May 2023 release) and appear as NA (not available) in Tables 4 and 8.

    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

    Within the Methodology page, updates occurred within:

    • Update to STP processes: section removed

    Upcoming changes

    Withdrawal of wages estimates

    The next scheduled release of Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages is on 10 August 2023. This release will see a number of changes to reflect the permanent withdrawal of wages estimates:

    • Title change to Weekly Payroll Jobs, to reflect the removal of wages indexes and availability of new earnings statistics in the Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator
    • Modification to data download Table 4 to remove the wages tab
    • Updated text and tables on the core release page and methodology reflecting the removal of all wages estimates

    The modified data download format for Table 4 is available via request at labour.statistics@abs.gov.au

    Withdrawal of sub-state geography estimates

    As noted in the last issue, there are longstanding limitations in how the current methodology for payroll jobs indexes can account for updates in geographic information below the state and territory level. As such, there has been an increasing number of payroll jobs with incomplete sub-state geographic information (GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 levels), which affects the quality of sub-state indexes, especially their coherence with national and state and territory level indexes.  The ABS is suspending sub-state indexes after this release, as it explores how to better produce regional labour market information from these data. 

    In the meantime, regional labour market information will continue to be available from the Labour Force, Detailed release and from the new enhanced regional labour market statistics that the ABS is producing, which use a range of data (including Single Touch Payroll data).

    State and territory level indexes will continue to be available in this release. 

    Previous catalogue number

    This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

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