Payroll jobs remain relatively flat

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said payroll jobs fell by 0.7 per cent in the second half of September and rose by 0.4 per cent in the first half of October as people returned to work after the school holidays.

Payroll jobs in mid-October were below their mid-September level in 12 of the 19 industries.

“Across these industries, Accommodation and food services and Education and training, which were particularly affected by school holidays, had the largest share of falls. Together they accounted for around 54 per cent of the payroll jobs losses in the month, which was much greater than their usual share of total payroll jobs (around 16 per cent),” Mr Jarvis said.

“In contrast, Retail trade and Construction accounted for around 59 per cent of payroll job increases in the month to mid-October, also well above their usual share of jobs (around 16 per cent).”

Payroll jobs fell in six of eight states and territories in the month to mid-October 2022, with the largest falls in NSW (down 0.5 per cent), Queensland and the Northern Territory (both down 0.4 per cent).

Both Victoria and Western Australia saw no change (0.0 per cent) in payroll jobs across the month to mid-October 2022. Payroll job increases in the construction and retail trade industries in Victoria, and healthcare and social assistance industry in Western Australia offset falls from other industries in those states.

Total wages paid fell 5.5 per cent in the month to mid-October 2022, following a seasonal increase in the previous month, reflecting 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 movements in core wages and salaries in these statistics. It is important to consider seasonality in these additional payments, particularly around the end of quarters and financial years, when assessing changes over time.