Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

Latest release

Experimental estimates of employee earnings, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period

October 2023 to March 2024

Released

21/05/2024

Next release 19/11/2024

Key statistics

In March 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers:

increased to $99,521 million
increased by 2.1% or $2,084 million in the month from February 2024
increased by 7.1% or $6,571 million in the year from March 2023

As a measure of aggregate earnings, estimates presented in this release include compositional changes in the labour market, which are described in more detail in Factors affecting interpretation.

Updated imputation method

In this release, the imputation method has been refined and updated to produce more accurate estimates across the imputation window (the latest 3 months) and reduce subsequent revisions. For more information, see the imputation section of How the data is transformed.

Leap year effect

In 2024, the leap year day slightly reduces the contribution of calendar adjusted earnings for monthly salaried employees in February. This results in weaker growth between January and February 2024 and stronger growth between February and March 2024 in total wages and salaries paid by employers. For more information, see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Expansion in available data

This release includes additional data. The available time series has been extended to cover July 2022 through to March 2024 and includes a new data download (Table 2) presenting level estimates in $ million for available classifications (state and territory, industry division, employment size and sector).

National

Wages and salaries paid by employers, month key statistics(a)
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Month change (%)	-2.9	2.6	-0.9	-3.6	4.9	2.1
Annual change (%)	6.9	7.2	6.6	6.7	5.7	7.1
Total wages and salaries ($m)	94,811	97,268	96,389	92,912	97,436	99,521

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Estimates are presented as a calendar-adjusted original series, to account for the differing number of days in each month, as seasonally adjusted estimates are not yet available.

Wages and salaries paid by employers, July 2022 to March 2024(a)
	2022-23 ($m)	2023-24 ($m)
Jul	87,019	92,409
Aug	88,603	94,434
Sep	91,720	97,677
Oct	88,715	94,811
Nov	90,749	97,268
Dec	90,449	96,389
Jan	87,053	92,912
Feb	92,196	97,436
Mar	92,950	99,521
Apr	91,765
May	91,257
Jun	91,967

Wages and salaries paid by employers, July 2022 to March 2024(a)

["","2022-23","2023-24"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[87019],[88603],[91720],[88715],[90749],[90449],[87053],[92196],[92950],[91765],[91257],[91967]],[[92409],[94434],[97677],[94811],[97268],[96389],[92912],[97436],[99521],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"$m","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"($m)","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":"85000","axis_max":"100000","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, August 2022 to March 2024(a)
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)
Jul	na	0.5
Aug	1.8	2.2
Sep	3.5	3.4
Oct	-3.3	-2.9
Nov	2.3	2.6
Dec	-0.3	-0.9
Jan	-3.8	-3.6
Feb	5.9	4.9
Mar	0.8	2.1
Apr	-1.3
May	-0.6
Jun	0.8

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, August 2022 to March 2024(a)

["","2022-23","2023-24"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[null],[1.8],[3.5],[-3.2999999999999998],[2.2999999999999998],[-0.29999999999999999],[-3.7999999999999998],[5.9000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004],[-1.3],[-0.59999999999999998],[0.80000000000000004]],[[0.5],[2.2000000000000002],[3.3999999999999999],[-2.8999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[-0.90000000000000002],[-3.6000000000000001],[4.9000000000000004],[2.1000000000000001],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"6","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Estimates of change throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded $ million values. They may differ from, though are more accurate than change calculated from rounded values.

Wages and salaries paid by employers, quarter key statistics
	Mar Qtr 23	Jun Qtr 23	Sep Qtr 23	Dec Qtr 23	Mar Qtr 24
Quarter change (%)	0.8	1.0	3.5	1.4	0.5
Annual change (%)	na	na	6.4	6.9	6.5
Total wages and salaries ($m)	272,198	274,990	284,520	288,467	289,869

Wages and salaries paid by employers, quarter change, Sep Qtr 2022 to Mar Qtr 2024
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)
Sep Qtr	5.6	3.5
Dec Qtr	1.0	1.4
Mar Qtr	0.8	0.5
Jun Qtr	1.0

Wages and salaries paid by employers, quarter change, Sep Qtr 2022 to Mar Qtr 2024

["","2022-23","2023-24"]

[["Sep Qtr","Dec Qtr","Mar Qtr","Jun Qtr"],[[5.5999999999999996],[1],[0.80000000000000004],[1]],[[3.5],[1.3999999999999999],[0.5],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

State and territory

In March 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in all states and territories from February 2024.

The largest increase was in Western Australia (3.9%)
The smallest increase was in Victoria (1.6%)

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory(a)
	Mar-23 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
New South Wales	0.2	1.7
Victoria	0.4	1.6
Queensland	0.8	2.2
South Australia	1.9	2.4
Western Australia	2.6	3.9
Tasmania	1.4	3.0
Northern Territory	1.8	3.6
Australian Capital Territory	0.7	2.6

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory(a)

["","Mar-23","Mar-24"]

[["New South Wales","Victoria","Queensland","South Australia","Western Australia","Tasmania","Northern Territory","Australian Capital Territory"],[[0.20000000000000001],[0.40000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004],[1.8999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[1.3999999999999999],[1.8],[0.69999999999999996]],[[1.7],[1.6000000000000001],[2.2000000000000002],[2.3999999999999999],[3.8999999999999999],[3],[3.6000000000000001],[2.6000000000000001]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"4","tick_interval":"1","precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
New South Wales	-3.8	2.7	-0.2	-4.1	5.8	1.7
Victoria	-2.4	2.7	-0.7	-4.2	5.0	1.6
Queensland	-2.7	3.0	-1.9	-3.4	4.1	2.2
South Australia	-3.0	2.5	-1.3	-2.8	3.6	2.4
Western Australia	-3.7	2.8	-1.1	-2.9	4.7	3.9
Tasmania	-1.7	2.6	0.9	-1.1	2.4	3.0
Northern Territory	-3.0	1.3	-2.5	-1.5	1.6	3.6
Australian Capital Territory	3.0	-1.8	-2.7	-1.5	3.8	2.6
Australia	-2.9	2.6	-0.9	-3.6	4.9	2.1

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
New South Wales	6.1	6.2	6.0	6.3	4.6	6.2
Victoria	5.9	6.7	5.3	6.5	5.1	6.4
Queensland	8.4	8.7	7.9	7.7	6.9	8.4
South Australia	6.7	7.7	6.3	6.5	6.7	7.2
Western Australia	7.3	7.4	8.5	6.3	6.5	7.9
Tasmania	7.5	8.9	7.7	9.5	8.5	10.2
Northern Territory	8.2	8.9	7.5	6.8	4.5	6.3
Australian Capital Territory	13.2	9.6	7.5	8.3	8.1	10.1
Australia	6.9	7.2	6.6	6.7	5.7	7.1

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory(a)
	Oct-23 ($m)	Nov-23 ($m)	Dec-23 ($m)	Jan-24 ($m)	Feb-24 ($m)	Mar-24 ($m)
New South Wales	31,099	31,929	31,861	30,559	32,324	32,885
Victoria	23,854	24,504	24,322	23,311	24,484	24,876
Queensland	17,930	18,461	18,114	17,501	18,224	18,622
South Australia	5,476	5,614	5,543	5,386	5,580	5,712
Western Australia	11,063	11,368	11,244	10,922	11,437	11,883
Tasmania	1,599	1,641	1,656	1,638	1,677	1,727
Northern Territory	988	1,001	975	960	976	1,011
Australian Capital Territory	2,801	2,750	2,674	2,634	2,734	2,805
Australia	94,811	97,268	96,389	92,912	97,436	99,521

Industry

In March 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in 15 of 19 industries from February 2024.

The largest increase was in Mining (9.8%)
The largest decrease was in Information media and telecommunications (-1.7%)

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)(b)
	Mar-23 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Mining	5.5	9.8
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.9	6.2
Financial and insurance services	1.6	4.6
Wholesale trade	3.6	4.4
Manufacturing	2.9	4.1
Health care and social assistance	1.4	3.0
Accommodation and food services	2.0	2.7
Education and training	2.3	2.5
Retail trade	0.0	2.1
Public administration and safety	0.3	1.8
Arts and recreation services	1.4	1.2
Other services	0.8	0.9
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	0.8	0.8
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.3	0.8
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.1	0.7
Professional, scientific and technical services	-1.4	0.0
Construction	-0.7	-0.5
Administrative and support services	-0.5	-0.6
Information media and telecommunications	-3.0	-1.7

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)(b)

["","Mar-23","Mar-24"]

[["Mining","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Financial and insurance services","Wholesale trade","Manufacturing","Health care and social assistance","Accommodation and food services","Education and training","Retail trade","Public administration and safety","Arts and recreation services","Other services","Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Transport, postal and warehousing","Professional, scientific and technical services","Construction","Administrative and support services","Information media and telecommunications"],[[5.5],[0.90000000000000002],[1.6000000000000001],[3.6000000000000001],[2.8999999999999999],[1.3999999999999999],[2],[2.2999999999999998],[0],[0.29999999999999999],[1.3999999999999999],[0.80000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004],[0.29999999999999999],[-1.1000000000000001],[-1.3999999999999999],[-0.69999999999999996],[-0.5],[-3]],[[9.8000000000000007],[6.2000000000000002],[4.5999999999999996],[4.4000000000000004],[4.0999999999999996],[3],[2.7000000000000002],[2.5],[2.1000000000000001],[1.8],[1.2],[0.90000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004],[0.69999999999999996],[0],[-0.5],[-0.59999999999999998],[-1.7]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"10","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Industries ranked by descending month percentage change wages and salaries paid by employers in March 2024.

b. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)(b)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.5	3.7	-3.7	-4.3	-1.0	0.8
Mining	-12.1	-0.3	2.2	-1.5	10.4	9.8
Manufacturing	-2.0	2.3	-0.1	-4.0	5.8	4.1
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-7.0	-0.8	1.7	-1.3	3.7	6.2
Construction	-0.7	1.8	-3.5	-3.7	8.0	-0.5
Wholesale trade	-1.4	3.3	-0.3	-4.5	7.4	4.4
Retail trade	-5.3	3.0	1.7	-4.1	0.0	2.1
Accommodation and food services	-3.3	1.9	0.7	-2.4	-3.2	2.7
Transport, postal and warehousing	-4.1	1.4	0.5	-3.9	4.6	0.7
Information media and telecommunications	-18.3	4.3	-3.8	0.1	10.2	-1.7
Financial and insurance services	-12.9	5.8	1.8	-7.7	8.4	4.6
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-2.7	1.8	0.0	-3.8	5.6	0.8
Professional, scientific and technical services	-3.2	2.5	-0.6	-4.0	6.7	0.0
Administrative and support services	-0.5	1.4	-6.7	-3.1	8.4	-0.6
Public administration and safety	1.9	1.7	-1.4	-0.9	1.6	1.8
Education and training	-0.2	8.0	-2.0	-11.7	8.4	2.5
Health care and social assistance	0.6	1.1	-0.2	0.0	0.9	3.0
Arts and recreation services	-1.5	2.1	-0.1	-1.1	2.2	1.2
Other services	-1.3	2.3	-1.1	-2.1	3.4	0.9
All industries	-2.9	2.6	-0.9	-3.6	4.9	2.1

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)(b)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	7.5	4.5	-0.8	2.6	-0.9	-0.9
Mining	8.3	7.3	9.5	7.5	6.0	10.3
Manufacturing	4.7	5.9	5.7	6.5	5.0	6.1
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	11.2	12.1	13.7	14.8	12.8	18.7
Construction	8.6	7.4	7.7	7.9	5.7	6.0
Wholesale trade	4.4	5.8	5.7	6.1	4.2	5.1
Retail trade	3.7	4.4	4.6	4.5	4.3	6.6
Accommodation and food services	6.2	5.4	5.1	4.3	1.8	2.5
Transport, postal and warehousing	5.9	6.0	5.2	7.0	5.5	7.4
Information media and telecommunications	3.0	3.9	1.9	-0.8	0.0	1.4
Financial and insurance services	6.3	8.5	5.5	6.4	4.2	7.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services	5.4	5.4	6.4	5.9	4.6	5.1
Professional, scientific and technical services	4.7	4.5	4.9	5.5	3.8	5.2
Administrative and support services	4.0	2.8	1.8	2.7	0.2	0.1
Public administration and safety	9.2	8.9	7.3	6.4	8.5	10.1
Education and training	8.4	9.0	8.7	6.6	7.4	7.7
Health care and social assistance	10.3	12.6	10.6	11.3	10.9	12.6
Arts and recreation services	7.0	5.5	3.9	6.6	5.7	5.4
Other services	8.7	8.1	7.5	8.9	7.8	8.0
All industries	6.9	7.2	6.6	6.7	5.7	7.1

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)(b)
	Oct-23 ($m)	Nov-23 ($m)	Dec-23 ($m)	Jan-24 ($m)	Feb-24 ($m)	Mar-24 ($m)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,101	1,142	1,099	1,052	1,041	1,050
Mining	3,256	3,247	3,320	3,271	3,611	3,966
Manufacturing	6,030	6,171	6,164	5,917	6,258	6,512
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,417	1,406	1,430	1,411	1,464	1,555
Construction	8,112	8,261	7,972	7,676	8,291	8,253
Wholesale trade	4,371	4,513	4,501	4,296	4,614	4,818
Retail trade	5,610	5,778	5,874	5,634	5,632	5,752
Accommodation and food services	3,427	3,492	3,517	3,434	3,325	3,416
Transport, postal and warehousing	3,959	4,015	4,034	3,877	4,054	4,084
Information media and telecommunications	1,935	2,018	1,942	1,943	2,140	2,104
Financial and insurance services	5,293	5,602	5,705	5,265	5,707	5,968
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2,010	2,046	2,046	1,968	2,079	2,095
Professional, scientific and technical services	10,393	10,651	10,586	10,165	10,846	10,843
Administrative and support services	5,879	5,964	5,561	5,388	5,842	5,804
Public administration and safety	7,589	7,718	7,610	7,542	7,663	7,798
Education and training	7,193	7,772	7,617	6,726	7,291	7,475
Health care and social assistance	13,509	13,662	13,630	13,634	13,753	14,167
Arts and recreation services	1,054	1,076	1,074	1,063	1,087	1,099
Other services	2,673	2,735	2,705	2,649	2,739	2,764
All industries	94,811	97,268	96,389	92,912	97,436	99,521

Employment size

In March 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose in 2 of 3 employment size groups from February 2024.

Employers with 200 employees and over saw the largest increase (3.6%)
Employers with 0-19 employees held steady (0.0%)

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size(a)
	Mar-23 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
0-19 employees	0.2	0.0
20-199 employees	0.0	1.0
200 employees and over	1.5	3.6

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size(a)

["","Mar-23","Mar-24"]

[["0-19 employees","20-199 employees","200 employees and over"],[[0.20000000000000001],[0],[1.5]],[[0],[1],[3.6000000000000001]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"4","tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size, Oct-23 to Mar-24(a)
	0-19 employees (%)	20-199 employees (%)	200 employees and over (%)
Oct-23	-5.2	-0.6	-3.1
Nov-23	2.2	2.6	2.8
Dec-23	-1.0	-1.6	-0.5
Jan-24	-3.6	-3.3	-3.8
Feb-24	5.2	5.8	4.3
Mar-24	0.0	1.0	3.6

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size, Oct-23 to Mar-24(a)

["","0-19 employees","20-199 employees","200 employees and over"]

[["Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24"],[[-5.2000000000000002],[2.2000000000000002],[-1],[-3.6000000000000001],[5.2000000000000002],[0]],[[-0.59999999999999998],[2.6000000000000001],[-1.6000000000000001],[-3.2999999999999998],[5.7999999999999998],[1]],[[-3.1000000000000001],[2.7999999999999998],[-0.5],[-3.7999999999999998],[4.2999999999999998],[3.6000000000000001]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-6","axis_max":"6","tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
0-19 employees	-5.2	2.2	-1.0	-3.6	5.2	0.0
20-199 employees	-0.6	2.6	-1.6	-3.3	5.8	1.0
200 employees and over	-3.1	2.8	-0.5	-3.8	4.3	3.6
All sizes	-2.9	2.6	-0.9	-3.6	4.9	2.1

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
0-19 employees	5.0	4.2	3.7	4.9	3.4	3.3
20-199 employees	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.5	4.5	5.5
200 employees and over	7.9	8.9	7.9	7.6	7.3	9.5
All sizes	6.9	7.2	6.6	6.7	5.7	7.1

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size(a)
	Oct-23 ($m)	Nov-23 ($m)	Dec-23 ($m)	Jan-24 ($m)	Feb-24 ($m)	Mar-24 ($m)
0-19 employees	20,354	20,804	20,594	19,858	20,895	20,900
20-199 employees	25,020	25,665	25,251	24,407	25,816	26,074
200 employees and over	49,437	50,799	50,543	48,647	50,726	52,547
All sizes	94,811	97,268	96,389	92,912	97,436	99,521

Sector

In March 2024, wages and salaries paid by employers rose from February 2024, in both the public (2.9%) and private sectors (2.0%).

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)
	Mar-23 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Private	0.9	2.0
Public	0.6	2.9

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)

["","Mar-23","Mar-24"]

[["Private","Public"],[[0.90000000000000002],[0.59999999999999998]],[[2],[2.8999999999999999]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)
	Private (%)	Public (%)
Oct-23	-3.8	0.4
Nov-23	2.5	3.1
Dec-23	-1.0	-0.6
Jan-24	-3.5	-4.0
Feb-24	5.6	2.1
Mar-24	2.0	2.9

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)

["","Private","Public"]

[["Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24"],[[-3.7999999999999998],[2.5],[-1],[-3.5],[5.5999999999999996],[2]],[[0.40000000000000002],[3.1000000000000001],[-0.59999999999999998],[-4],[2.1000000000000001],[2.8999999999999999]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-5","axis_max":"6","tick_interval":"1","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day alters the seasonal change in February and March 2024 in these estimates. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change

Month change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Private	-3.8	2.5	-1.0	-3.5	5.6	2.0
Public	0.4	3.1	-0.6	-4.0	2.1	2.9
All sectors	-2.9	2.6	-0.9	-3.6	4.9	2.1

Annual change

Annual change in wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)
	Oct-23 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Jan-24 (%)	Feb-24 (%)	Mar-24 (%)
Private	6.3	6.5	5.9	6.7	5.1	6.3
Public	9.0	9.9	9.1	6.9	7.9	10.3
All sectors	6.9	7.2	6.6	6.7	5.7	7.1

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector(a)
	Oct-23 ($m)	Nov-23 ($m)	Dec-23 ($m)	Jan-24 ($m)	Feb-24 ($m)	Mar-24 ($m)
Private	75,449	77,300	76,536	73,856	77,976	79,503
Public	19,362	19,968	19,853	19,056	19,461	20,018
All sectors	94,811	97,268	96,389	92,912	97,436	99,521

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

Data files

Download xlsx [3.17 MB]

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

Included from the 21 May 2024 release.

Data files

Download xlsx [1.65 MB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [832.4 KB]

Changes in this release

In this release, the following sections were updated within the Methodology page:

How the data is transformed: text changes within Imputation subsection in regard to the method update
Factors affecting interpretation: new section added, Leap year effect
Factors affecting interpretation: text changes within Imputation rollout effect subsection

Methodology

Scope

This release presents experimental estimates of wages and salaries paid by active employing businesses and organisations to their employees in the Australian economy.

Geography

Data is available for:

Australia total
States and territories

Source

Australian Tax Office (ATO) Single Touch Payroll (STP) administrative data combined with ABS Business Register data.

Collection method

The ATO provides selected employer and employee level data from the STP system to the ABS. These data are combined with employer population and characteristics data from quarterly ABS Business Register snapshots.

Concepts, sources and methods

Wages and salaries are gross values (prior to taxation and deductions) and include wages, salary payments and allowances paid through Australian payrolls.

Employee superannuation and severance and termination payments are excluded.

History of changes

Refined imputation method included in 21 May 2024 release.

View full methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

We can provide customised data to meet your requirements

Request a quote

Microdata and TableBuilder

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics

View available Microdata and TableBuilder

APA

Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

APA

Key statistics

Updated imputation method

Leap year effect

Expansion in available data

National

State and territory

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Industry

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Employment size

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Sector

Month change

Annual change

Total wages and salaries ($m)

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

All data cubes

Changes in this release

Methodology

Scope

Geography

Source

Collection method

Concepts, sources and methods

History of changes

Media releases

Total wages and salaries reached a seasonal high of $99.5 billion in March

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder