As per a new report by employment marketplace Seek, new hires in design and architecture remain some of the only employees in Australia whose pay packages are staying ahead of inflation.
The SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) has found advertised salaries in Design & Architecture have grown 7.3 per cent in the last 12 months, compared to Australia’s current inflation rate of 6.1 per cent.
This was followed by Information & Communication Technology, where pay packages have grown by 6.2 per cent.
“As the Great Job Boom continues, observers have wondered when wages and salaries will start to pick up. If you look at advertised salaries for vacant roles, it is clear they already have,” said Matt Cowgill, SEEK Senior Economist.
“Competition for talent is fierce, with the unemployment rate at a near 50-year low. SEEK’s unique data shows employers are responding to the tight labour market by increasing advertised salaries.
“Unlike previous labour market booms, such as the mining boom, this is not a situation in which some parts of the country pull ahead much more rapidly than the rest. The labour market has been almost uniformly strong.”
The growth in advertised salaries, by state and industry
The national advertised salary on SEEK rose by 4.1 per cent over the year to July 2022, picking up significantly in late 2021. These figures indicate advertised salaries are growing more strongly compared to Australia’s Wage Price Index, which stands at 2.6 per cent.
Notably, this data indicates advertised salaries for new hires, not pay rises for existing employees.
The Northern Territory led the pack with advertised wage growth of 5 per cent in the last 12 months, followed by Western Australia and Tasmania.
Growth in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory was relatively modest at 1.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. (However, the report noted, advertised full-time equivalent salaries are higher in the Australian Capital Territory, on average, than in other states and territories.)
Advertised salaries rose in every industry in the year to July 2022, with most experiencing 3 per cent or greater growth. The growth is much more rapid than before the pandemic, at nearly double the pace observed
in 2019.
Industries with heavier public sector involvement experienced slower growth, including Government (+1.4 per cent), Education & Training (+1.6 per cent) and Healthcare & Medical (+2.4 per cent).
Advertised wages in science and technology grew by a modest 0.6 per cent.
However, new hires in lower-paid roles have experienced higher wages. SEEK’s data indicates advertised salaries for jobs in the lowest-paid band were 7.1 per cent higher in July 2022 than they were in February 2020.
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
READ MORE: Australian SMEs recorded highest jobs growth in 11 months: Xero
