The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its latest findings on average weekly earnings, showcasing a notable increase in wages.
As of November, full-time adults earned an average of $1,975.80 weekly.
“Average weekly earnings growth over the six months to November 2024 was 2.7%, which was higher than the 1.8% growth in the six months to May 2024,” said Bjorn Jarvis (pictured above), ABS head of labour statistics.
The growth in the latter half of 2024, at 2.7%, was marginally below the 2.8% recorded in the second half of 2023.
Jarvis further noted that annual growth remained robust.
“Meanwhile, annual growth to November 2024 remained high at 4.6%, or an extra $87 a week,” he said.
Jarvis also pointed out the sectoral differences, stating, “Average earnings growth was higher in the private sector, which rose by 4.8% annually, while the public sector grew by 3.4%.”
Additionally, Jarvis commented on the gender dynamics within the wage statistics.
“With male average earnings rising faster than female earnings in the six months to November 2024, the gender pay gap widened slightly to 11.9%,” he said.
“While the gender pay gap was slightly larger than the 11.5% seen in May 2024, it was still smaller than the 12% seen a year ago in November 2023, and much smaller than the 18.7% it was 10 years ago in November 2014."
The ABS report also detailed variations across regions and industries.
The highest weekly earnings were recorded in the Australian Capital Territory at $2,171 and Western Australia at $2,157, while the lowest were in Tasmania at $1,766 and South Australia at $1,857.
The mining industry continued to boast the highest average earnings at $3,112 per week, significantly above other sectors such as information media and telecommunications at $2,508, and far surpassing the lowest-paid sectors, accommodation and food services at $1,431, and retail trade at $1,496.
Parallel to the ABS findings, Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk provided a critical analysis of the wage price index (WPI), which increased by 0.7% in the December quarter.
“This result is going to make it much harder for the RBA to achieve their June 2025 forecast of 3.4%yr when the current six-month annualised pace is already down to 3.1%yr,” Smirk said.
Westpac remains cautious about future wage growth.
“We retain our forecast for the annual pace of the WPI to be down to 3.0%yr at June 2025, 0.4ppt below the RBA’s forecast,” Smirk said.
This suggests a potential recalibration of expectations regarding Australia’s wage inflation trajectory.
