Which 10 jobs are seeing the biggest pay rises in Australia?

Entry-level positions take up most spots, with hikes ranging from 10% to 19%

BY Sarah Dobson 04 Nov 2023

When it comes to the top 10 jobs with the biggest pay rises in Australia, entry level general project engineering, senior customer relationship management and entry-level IT software development and operations workers come in on top — at 19 per cent, 18 per cent and 18 per cent rises, respectively.

That’s according to data by global consultancy firm Mercer, said the Daily Mail, citing a report from the Australian Financial Review.

In addition, employers have been forced to raise salary offers due to a tight labour market, with base salaries hiked up by a median of 4 per cent, one per cent higher than expected.

More than 1,200 Australian organisations and close to 425,000 employees were surveyed, said the Daily Mail, citing the Australian Financial Review report.

Top 10 jobs with the biggest pay rises in Australia

Entry-level general project engineering (19 per cent)
Senior customer relationship management (18 per cent)
Entry-level IT software development and operations (18 per cent)
Entry-level market research and analysis (14 per cent)
Entry-level general equipment repair (13 per cent)
Entry-level industrial machinery mechanic (12 per cent)
Entry-level civil/construction/structural engineering (11 per cent)
Entry-level information systems security (11 per cent)
Entry-level electrical engineering (11 per cent)
Entry-level IT, telecom and internet generalists (10 per cent)

Engineers are always in demand as Australia doesn't produce enough of them, according to Aurecon chief people officer Liam Hayes, in the Daily Mail.

“There's certainly still a need for us to look for those skills offshore because there's not enough of those particular high-demand skills in Australia,” he said.

Budgets for salary increases in 2023 have surged to their highest amount in two decades, according to a new survey from WorldAtWork, putting more pressure for HR leaders coming up with compensation budgets amid an uncertain economic environment.