But lower annual growth in certain sectors 'reflects weaker economic conditions and consumer demand,' says ABS
Total wages and salaries paid by employers reached $103.7 billion in September 2024 to hit a record high, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Its Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator revealed that total wages and salaries paid rose 3.9% or $3.9 billion between August and September 2024.
"This marks an all-time monthly high in total wages and salaries paid by employers in Australia of $103.7 billion in September 2024. It compares with $97.5 billion in September 2023 and $90.9 billion in September 2022," said Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.
It also follows a pattern observed over the last two years as a range of industries pay periodic bonuses at the end of the September quarter, according to Jarvis.
In addition to bonuses, other factors that contributed to this all-time high include underlying wage growth, variations in hours worked, one-off payments, and employment growth.
Despite total wages and salaries exceeding $100 billion, the ABS revealed that annual wage growth slowed in September 2024 from a year ago.
The annual growth in total wages and salaries to September 2024 was 6.3%, down from the 7.3% recorded in the same period last year.
Annual growth to September 2024 in terms of total wages and salaries was also lower than a year ago in 14 of 19 industries, according to the ABS, with the lowest annual growth recorded in the accommodation and food services industry (2.8%.)
"The lower annual growth to September 2024 in the accommodation and food services industry reflects weaker economic conditions and consumer demand compared to the year before," Jarvis said.
On the other hand, five industries saw higher growth in total wages and salaries than the previous year, including the public administration and safety industry (11.8%).
By location, only Victoria recorded a higher growth in total wages and salaries in September 2024 (6.3%) than the previous year (6.0%).
According to the ABS, the higher wage growth data in public administration and Victoria can be partly attributed to the state's one-off lump sum payment from its new enterprise agreement for the Victorian Public Service.
