Summary: payrolls and wages both increased in the week to 30 May; payrolls increased in each week in May; wages fell in the three weeks prior to the latest one; payrolls and wages both down considerably in relation to start of pandemic restrictions; May employment numbers still expected to be lower.
The ABS has released its latest payroll report containing new statistics on jobs and wages based on Single Touch Payroll data provided by the ATO. Job losses do not directly translate into additional unemployment; some people hold more than one job and the report’s figures are not seasonally adjusted.
The rate of weekly job gains has remained at roughly the same pace through May. Total jobs increased by 0.4%, higher than the previous week’s flat result and a little above the 0.3% gains in the two weeks prior to that.
The total for wages provided a similar result for the week and it increased by 0.7%. However, the gain followed a 0.7% fall in the previous week and falls of 2.0% and 1.3% in the two weeks prior to that.
Between the week ending 14 March 2020 and the week ending 30 May 2020, the total number of work positions in Australia contracted by 7.5%. Total wages fell by 8.3% over the same eleven-week period.
12 out of the 19 sectors experienced gains for the week, with the hard-hit “Accommodation & food services” faring the best in percentage terms. Another sector greatly affected by the pandemic restrictions, the “Arts & recreation services” sector, had no change for the week.