In the month until 17 September, payroll jobs rose 0.3 per cent according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said this small growth was consistent with what has happened over the past six months.
“The growth in the month to mid-September 2022 varies from previous years, due to differing labour market conditions at the time,” he said.
“In mid-September 2021, payroll jobs fell due to Delta-related lockdowns in some jurisdictions, and rose in mid-September 2020 reflecting the recovery from initial pandemic impacts.”
Payroll jobs rose in seven of 19 industries with the largest rises in education and training (up 2.0 per cent), retail trade (up 1.4 per cent) and the professional, scientific and technical services industries (up 1.1 per cent). Together, these industries account for almost 90 per cent of the growth in payroll jobs during this period.
These increases are likely to be largely seasonal and follow payroll jobs growth in 2020.
Over the same month in 2020, payroll jobs growth in retail trade was particularly strong, reflecting its rapid recovery from the initial pandemic outbreak.
The remaining 12 industries saw falls in payroll jobs over the month to mid-September 2022, with the largest in the arts and recreation services (down 1.3 per cent) and the transport, postal and warehousing industries (down 1.0 per cent).
“Payroll jobs rose in every state and territory in the month to mid-September 2022, with the largest rises in the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia (up 0.7 and 0.6 per cent),” Mr Jarvis said.
The education and training industry accounted for more than a third of the payroll jobs increase over the month to mid-September across all states and territories, reflecting the seasonal high in payroll jobs ahead of the spring school holidays.
Wages paid rose 2.7 per cent in the month to mid-September 2022. The seasonal increase in wages was largely driven by the payment of periodic bonuses in multiple industries around September each year.
As single touch payroll data does not currently separate bonuses and other types of payment such as overtime from wages and salaries, it is not possible to identify underlying growth in core wages and salaries in these statistics.
