Australian Full-Time Employees Celebrate $81 Weekly Raise in First Real Wage Growth Since 2021

Publish Date: 22/02/2024

Australians experienced their first real wage increase since 2021, with full-time workers seeing an extra $81 a week in earnings. The mining sector emerged as the highest earner, with full-time employees in this industry averaging $2952 per week.

Average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults increased by $81 a week over the past year, reaching $1888.80 in November. The average weekly salary for Australians in November was $1888.80, the highest since May 2013, except for a brief spike during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Workers in the information media and telecommunications industry earned $2406 per week on average, while those in professional, scientific, and technical services earned $2223.

The lowest-paid full-time workers were in the accommodation and food services ($1397) and retail trade ($1435) industries.

Western Australia ($2108) and the Australian Capital Territory ($2080) had the highest average weekly ordinary time earnings, while Tasmania ($1670) and South Australia ($1735) had the lowest.

Annual wage growth reached an almost 15-year high, rising 4.2% in the 12 months to December 2023, outpacing the inflation rate of 4.1%. The wage price index rose by 4.2% in the year to December quarter of 2023, marking the highest annual increase in underlying wage growth since March quarter 2009. Average earnings growth was supported by increases in both the private sector (4.4%) and the public sector (4.9%).