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Includes earnings and hours statistics for characteristics such as industry, occupation, sex, age, full-time/part-time, and method of setting pay
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Reference period
May 2021
Released
19/01/2022
Next release Unknown
- Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia Reference Period May 2018
- Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia Archive release Reference Period May 2016
- Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia Archive release Reference Period May 2014
- View all releases
Key statistics
- Median weekly earnings were $1,209.00 for all employees, $1,390.00 for males and $1,042.00 for females.
- Occupations with the highest hourly earnings were Managers ($65.10) and Professionals ($57.90).
- Individual arrangement was the most common method of setting pay (37.8%), followed by collective agreement (35.1%).
| Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | Number of employees ('000) | Proportion of employees (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time males | 1,934.00 | 4,276.8 | 36.9 |
| Part-time males | 722.40 | 1,461.8 | 12.6 |
| All males | 1,625.40 | 5,738.6 | 49.6 |
| Full-time females | 1,675.90 | 2,644.2 | 22.8 |
| Part-time females | 745.80 | 3,195.9 | 27.6 |
| All females | 1,166.90 | 5,840.0 | 50.4 |
| Full-time persons | 1,835.40 | 6,921.0 | 59.8 |
| Part-time persons | 738.40 | 4,657.6 | 40.2 |
| All persons | 1,394.10 | 11,578.6 | 100.0 |
(a) May not sum to totals due to rounding
| 1st Quartile ($) | Median ($) | 3rd Quartile ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time males | 1,226.00 | 1,662.00 | 2,326.00 |
| Full-time females | 1,154.00 | 1,496.00 | 2,016.00 |
| All full-time persons | 1,196.00 | 1,592.00 | 2,192.00 |
| Part-time males | 330.00 | 620.00 | 932.00 |
| Part-time females | 381.00 | 663.00 | 990.00 |
| All part-time persons | 364.00 | 648.00 | 975.00 |
| All males | 940.00 | 1,390.00 | 2,088.00 |
| All females | 600.00 | 1,042.00 | 1,549.00 |
| All persons | 750.00 | 1,209.00 | 1,814.00 |
COVID-19 impacts on employees earnings and hours
The Employee Earnings and Hours survey was postponed from May 2020 to May 2021, due to the labour market impacts and disruption from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey reference period (the last pay period ending on or before 21 May2021) fell prior to the delta outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Australia, at which point there were no lockdowns in place across Australia.
Survey responses remain high in May
Responses for the Employee Earnings and Hours May 2021 cycle remained high. The ABS would like to thank the Australian business community for their continued support in responding to our surveys during such a challenging time, given how critically important this information is.
Available populations
All employees
- Provides estimates based on every employee in scope for the survey. This covers both managerial (including owner managers of incorporated enterprises) and non-managerial employees.
- This population is useful for high level analysis of employee earnings and hours data by all major classifications.
Non-managerial employees
- Excludes owner mangers of incorporated enterprises and managerial employees who have strategic responsibilities in the conduct or operations of the organisation and/or are in charge of a significant number of employees.
- This population has a direct link between employee earnings and hours paid for and can be used to analyse hourly rates.
Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
- Provides a relatively homogenous employee population.
- This population excludes part-time employees, managerial employees (including owner managers of incorporated enterprises) and those not paid at the adult rate. As a result, it removes many employees with unusually high or low earnings from the population of interest. Removing these extreme values can be useful when comparing pay rates between occupations or when analysing the gender wage gap (particularly for weekly earnings).
| Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|
| Mining | 2,798.40 |
| Manufacturing | 1,457.40 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 2,060.90 |
| Construction | 1,600.40 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,468.20 |
| Retail trade | 864.50 |
| Accommodation and food services | 664.70 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 1,587.70 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 1,797.40 |
| Finance and insurance services | 1,990.40 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 1,381.70 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1,911.30 |
| Administrative and support services | 1,234.50 |
| Public administration and safety | 1,745.40 |
| Education and training | 1,374.80 |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,287.40 |
| Arts and recreation services | 1,032.90 |
| Other services | 1,043.10 |
| All industries | 1,394.10 |
| Males ($) | Females ($) | Persons ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | 2,863.30 | 2,326.50 | 2,774.60 |
| Manufacturing | 1,684.70 | 1,356.20 | 1,616.70 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 2,257.80 | 1,846.60 | 2,176.40 |
| Construction | 1,917.30 | 1,505.30 | 1,860.40 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,686.00 | 1,486.30 | 1,626.10 |
| Retail trade | 1,386.60 | 1,271.50 | 1,337.60 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,311.30 | 1,179.20 | 1,266.00 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 1,880.00 | 1,574.90 | 1,820.40 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 2,150.50 | 1,817.30 | 2,029.30 |
| Finance and insurance services | 2,346.30 | 1,905.10 | 2,134.10 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 1,712.60 | 1,340.80 | 1,525.60 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 2,266.80 | 1,803.70 | 2,084.70 |
| Administrative and support services | 1,773.90 | 1,458.30 | 1,642.20 |
| Public administration and safety | 1,969.00 | 1,798.30 | 1,896.40 |
| Education and training | 1,998.00 | 1,808.10 | 1,871.70 |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,012.40 | 1,670.00 | 1,770.20 |
| Arts and recreation services | 1,620.80 | 1,525.60 | 1,577.20 |
| Other services | 1,536.40 | 1,341.50 | 1,457.30 |
| All industries | 1,910.10 | 1,639.70 | 1,800.90 |
| Average weekly total hours paid for (hours) | Average hourly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | 42.0 | 63.90 |
| Manufacturing | 36.8 | 37.80 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 38.4 | 52.70 |
| Construction | 38.6 | 40.90 |
| Wholesale trade | 35.6 | 39.90 |
| Retail trade | 26.9 | 31.20 |
| Accommodation and food services | 22.7 | 28.20 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 37.4 | 41.00 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 33.9 | 51.40 |
| Finance and insurance services | 35.3 | 53.20 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 33.5 | 38.00 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 34.4 | 52.20 |
| Administrative and support services | 30.9 | 38.00 |
| Public administration and safety | 34.6 | 48.50 |
| Education and training | 27.4 | 48.80 |
| Health care and social assistance | 28.9 | 43.70 |
| Arts and recreation services | 25.1 | 37.90 |
| Other services | 29.3 | 33.70 |
| All industries | 31.4 | 42.50 |
State
| Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 1,463.20 |
| Victoria | 1,343.90 |
| Queensland | 1,338.60 |
| South Australia | 1,258.60 |
| Western Australia | 1,472.20 |
| Tasmania | 1,123.40 |
| Northern Territory | 1,561.00 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 1,611.70 |
| Australia | 1,394.10 |
| Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|
| Private | 1,325.50 |
| Public | 1,700.40 |
| All sectors | 1,394.10 |
Occupation
| Number of employees ('000) | Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 816.4 | 2,596.40 |
| Professionals | 2,831.5 | 1,892.00 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 1,368.8 | 1,482.40 |
| Community and personal service workers | 1,593.5 | 907.20 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 1,877.5 | 1,167.70 |
| Sales workers | 1,227.9 | 760.50 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 680.7 | 1,457.60 |
| Labourers | 1,182.4 | 906.70 |
| All occupations | 11,578.6 | 1,394.10 |
| Males ($) | Females ($) | Persons ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managers | 2,736.40 | 2,269.10 | 2,551.80 |
| Professionals | 2,394.10 | 2,010.60 | 2,206.10 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 1,816.00 | 1,480.90 | 1,780.60 |
| Community and personal service workers | 1,801.70 | 1,335.50 | 1,540.30 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 1,586.60 | 1,378.30 | 1,450.90 |
| Sales workers | 1,438.40 | 1,213.70 | 1,330.60 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 1,703.50 | 1,500.00 | 1,685.20 |
| Labourers | 1,422.70 | 1,136.50 | 1,368.50 |
| All occupations | 1,910.10 | 1,639.70 | 1,800.90 |
| Average weekly total hours paid for (hours) | Average hourly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 37.1 | 65.10 |
| Professionals | 32.6 | 57.90 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 37.9 | 39.50 |
| Community and personal service workers | 25.6 | 35.40 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 31.8 | 36.90 |
| Sales workers | 24.7 | 30.50 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 39.2 | 37.40 |
| Labourers | 29.2 | 31.00 |
| All occupations | 31.4 | 42.50 |
| Award only (%) | Collective agreement (%) | Individual arrangement (%) | Owner manager of incorporated enterprise (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 9.4 | 15.3 | 21.8 | 3.1 |
| Female | 13.6 | 19.9 | 15.9 | 1.1 |
| Persons | 23.0 | 35.1 | 37.8 | 4.1 |
| Male ($) | Female ($) | Persons ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Award only | 937.10 | 788.30 | 849.20 |
| Collective agreement | 1,685.50 | 1,269.50 | 1,450.20 |
| Individual arrangement | 1,882.80 | 1,363.50 | 1,663.90 |
| Owner manager of incorporated enterprise | 1,602.50 | 1,137.60 | 1,481.40 |
| All methods of setting pay | 1,625.40 | 1,166.90 | 1,394.10 |
| Award only ($) | Collective agreement ($) | Individual arrangement ($) | Owner manager of incorporated enterprise ($) | All methods of setting pay ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 1,011.10 | 1,459.70 | 1,758.70 | 1,505.70 | 1,463.20 |
| Victoria | 754.50 | 1,358.40 | 1,608.40 | 1,459.60 | 1,343.90 |
| Queensland | 753.00 | 1,474.10 | 1,542.30 | 1,315.60 | 1,338.60 |
| South Australia | 709.30 | 1,418.70 | 1,557.30 | 1,266.60 | 1,258.60 |
| Western Australia | 697.80 | 1,544.80 | 1,744.00 | 1,664.60 | 1,472.20 |
| Tasmania | 862.10 | 1,208.10 | 1,322.20 | 1,283.60 | 1,123.40 |
| Northern Territory | 880.50 | 1,754.00 | 1,691.30 | 1,834.20 | 1,561.00 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 659.40 | 1,752.40 | 1,741.20 | 2,488.10 | 1,611.70 |
| Australia | 849.20 | 1,450.20 | 1,663.90 | 1,481.40 | 1,394.10 |
| Award only (%) | Collective agreement (%) | Individual arrangement (%) | Owner manager of incorporated enterprise (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 16.1 | 42.0 | 38.7 | 3.3 |
| 2014 | 18.8 | 41.1 | 36.6 | 3.4 |
| 2016 (a) | 20.6 | 38.5 | 37.3 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | 21.0 | 37.9 | 37.3 | 3.8 |
| 2021 | 23.0 | 35.1 | 37.8 | 4.1 |
(a) Data for 2016 is based on indicative comparable estimate proportions. For further information, see Appendix 1 in the 2018 Feature Article.
Data downloads
Data cube 1. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average age - rate of pay and age category: by employment status by sex, type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [173 KB]
Data cube 2. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average age - method of setting pay: by employment status by sex, type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [110.56 KB]
Data cube 3. All employees
Distribution, deciles and quartiles of weekly total cash earnings - age category, method of setting pay, employment status, type of employee, occupation by sex, industry and sector
Data files
Download xlsx [188.18 KB]
Data cube 4. Non-managerial employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - rate of pay and age category: by employment status by sex, type of employee and status by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [229.61 KB]
Data cube 5. Non-managerial employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by employment status by sex, type of employee and status by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [104.06 KB]
Data cube 6. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - age category: by type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [155.74 KB]
Data cube 7. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector and employer size
Data files
Download xlsx [96.41 KB]
Data cube 8. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Distribution, deciles and quartiles of weekly total cash earnings - age category, method of setting pay, type of employee, occupation by sex, industry and sector
Data files
Download xlsx [202.96 KB]
Data cube 9. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings -method of setting pay: by age category
Data files
Download xlsx [58.14 KB]
Data cube 10. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings - rate of pay: by age category
Data files
Download xlsx [59.1 KB]
Data cube 11. All employees
Average weekly total cash earnings, average age - sex: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 4 digit)
Data files
Download xlsx [161.95 KB]
Data cube 12. All employees
Average weekly total cash earnings, average age - method of setting pay: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 4 digit)
Data files
Download xlsx [318.81 KB]
Data cube 13. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - sex: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 3 digit)
Data files
Download xlsx [97.39 KB]
Data cube 14. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 3 digit)
Data files
Download xlsx [116.44 KB]
Data cube 15. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - sex: by industry sub-division (ANZSIC 2 digit)
Data files
Download xlsx [85.88 KB]
All data cubes
Data files
Download zip [1.91 MB]
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number6306.0.
04/02/22 - Minor formatting updates to data cubes 2, 12, and 15. No revisions to data.
Methodology
Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia methodology, May 2021
FAQs
What is the average hourly wage in Australia 2021? ›
Median employee earnings was $1,250 per week, up $50 (4.2%) since August 2021. Median hourly earnings was $37 per hour, up $1 since August 2021.
What is a good salary in Australia 2021? ›The average salary of an individual in Australia for 2021 is projected to be around 99,596 AUD per year. Salaries can range from 33,000 AUD to 260,000 AUD in 2021. The average salary includes housing, transport and additional benefits. The median salary or the middle salary value is 72,000 AUD per year.
What is the average full time earnings in Australia? ›The average salary in Australia for 2022 is 7,570 Australian dollars (AUD) per month. That's approximately USD 5,088 per month, according to the exchange rates in December 2022.
What is the average wage per hour in Australia? ›The average full time salary in Australia is $68,585 per year or $35.17 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $57,008 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $104,620 per year.
How much dollar per hour in Australia? ›An Australian in your area makes on average $25 per hour, or $0.65 (3%) more than the national average hourly salary of $23.94. ranks number 1 out of 50 states nationwide for Australian salaries.
How does salary work in Australia? ›A salary is a fixed regular payment, usually monthly or annually, agreed upon in an employment contract, however it is not affixed to the number of hours performed and can incorporate additional entitlements such as overtime, penalty rates and loadings.
What salary is top 1% in Australia? ›To some extent it depends on fluidity of membership of the top 1% (which in Australia means earning a pretax income of at least A$246,000).
What is middle class in Australia? ›It then goes on to describe those middle income Australians as individuals earning between $120,000 and $160,000 a year.
How much salary is enough in Australia? ›The average full salary in Australia is $77,483 per year or $39.73 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $58,819 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $134,940 per year.
How many hours is full-time employment in Australia? ›Find out more at Secure Jobs, Better Pay: Changes to Australian workplace laws. Full-time employees usually work an average of 38 hours each week. They're usually employed on a permanent basis or on a fixed term contract.
How many working hours in a year Australia full-time? ›
Total number of working hours in a year
Multiply 40 times 52, which equals 2,080. This calculation does not take leap years into consideration.
When Does the Minimum Wage Increase? The National Minimum Wage increased by 5.2% per cent to $21.38 per hour, for a full-time award free adult employee who is not an apprentice or a trainee. These changes came into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022.
What is a decent wage in Australia? ›The average full salary in Australia is $77,593 per year or $39.79 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $58,875 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $134,931 per year.
What is the living cost in Australia? ›| Total Living Expenses in Melbourne ⁵ | Average cost |
|---|---|
| 1 person, per month (without rent) | A$1,458 |
| 4 person family, per month (without rent) | A$5,261 |
| Utilities - basic, for 85m² apartment | A$218 |
It then goes on to describe those middle income Australians as individuals earning between $120,000 and $160,000 a year. The most inconvenient truth of Australian economic debate is that those earning $120,000 per year are nothing like “middle income” Australians.
How much is one hour salary in Australia 2022? ›When Does the Minimum Wage Increase? The National Minimum Wage increased by 5.2% per cent to $21.38 per hour, for a full-time award free adult employee who is not an apprentice or a trainee. These changes came into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022.