SEEK Advertised Salary Index - Growth remains strong, but it’s not accelerating
The SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) measures the growth in advertised salaries for jobs posted on SEEK in Australia. This report examines national trends up to the month of April 2023.
NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
- Advertised salaries rose by 4.8% in the year to April 2023.
- Year-on-year (y/y) growth is very strong, but there has been more modest growth in the past six months in particular.
- Advertised salary growth continues to lag inflation.
STATE ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
- Advertised salaries grew in every state and territory in the year to April 2023.
- Growth in advertised salaries was solid in every state and territory other than the Northern Territory where growth was more modest.
- Queensland led the pack with 5.5% growth y/y.
INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
- Trades & Services experienced the fastest growth at 6.7% y/y.
- Advertising, Arts & Media was the only industry where the advertised salary index declined y/y.
- Government continues to lag other industries, but there are signs it’s starting to regain some ground relative to other parts of the economy.
ANALYSIS
- Advertised salaries have grown fastest for the lowest-paid jobs.
- Jobs in the bottom paid fifth of the workforce experienced 5.4% growth in advertised salaries y/y.
- Jobs in the top fifth saw growth of just 3.6%.
SEEK Senior Economist, Matt Cowgill, says:
“Advertised salary growth remains strong, but it’s not accelerating. We’re not seeing a price-wage spiral, where advertised salaries keep rising in response to higher inflation. Advertised salary growth still lags far behind the rising cost of living, however the gap is narrowing.
“Although year-on-year advertised salary growth was very strong, there are some signs that it is starting to moderate. Growth in the past six months has been slower than in the six months prior to that period.
“Advertised salary growth continues to outpace overall wages and salaries growth, as is measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Wage Price Index. Additionally, those in the lowest pay bracket are experiencing significantly faster rises than the higher brackets. Middle-earners are experiencing the slowest growth of all.”
NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
Advertised salary growth has remained strong. Overall, advertised salaries for roles on SEEK in Australia were 4.8% higher in April 2023 than a year earlier in April 2022. The y/y growth in advertised salaries has been fluctuating within the 4.5% to 5% range since October 2022.*
Although the labour market is no longer as tight as it was in early 2022, with job ad volumes moderating and applications rising, advertised salary growth has remained very strong. This strong growth demonstrates that the labour market is still tight, even though conditions have eased, with the unemployment rate around its lowest level in nearly 50 years. Strong advertised salary growth also reflects continued high inflation.
The month-on-month (m/m) growth in advertised salaries in April was relatively modest at 0.2%, lower than the figures recorded in March and February, as shown in Figure 2.
*Please note that there have been some revisions to the data.
Figure 1: Annual growth of SEEK ASI
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Source: SEEK.
Figure 2: Monthly growth of SEEK ASI
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Source: SEEK.
Although the m/m growth rates in advertised salaries can be somewhat volatile, there’s been a slowdown in recent months. Between November 2022 and April 2023, the average m/m growth rate in advertised salaries was 0.3%. This compares to 0.5% in the prior six months, the period from May to October 2022, inclusive.
The continued high y/y growth rates in advertised salaries reflects, to a large extent, strong growth in early-mid 2022 rather than in the most recent period. Although advertised salaries rose by 4.8% y/y to April 2023, growth in the six months to April (annualised) was just 3.7%, a more modest rate of growth. This is shown in Figure 3.
Advertised salary growth remains high. But it is not accelerating, and there are signs from the past six months that it has slowed.
Figure 3: Year-on-year and 6-month annualised growth of SEEK ASI
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Six-month annualised figure represents the compound annual growth rate over rolling six-month windows. Source: SEEK.
STATE ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
In the year to April, advertised salary growth was strong across all parts of the country other than the Northern Territory where it was significantly more modest.
Table 1: SEEK Advertised Salary Index growth by state/territory, April 2023
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Source: SEEK.
Queensland led the nation with 5.5% growth y/y to April 2023. Advertised salary growth has started to cool a little in Western Australia, but in Queensland remains robust.
There has been a slight divergence between the biggest states, with advertised salary growth in New South Wales increasing at 4.8% year-on-year while Victoria is slightly more moderate at 4.2%.
The Australian Capital Territory has caught up to the pack, still lagging all the states but no longer by as much as it was earlier in 2022. Canberra tends to follow a different cycle to the rest of the nation, given the prevalence of public sector employment.
Figure 4: Year-on-year growth in SEEK ASI by state/territory
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Source: SEEK.
INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
Trades and Services has gone from strength to strength in recent times with very strong growth in advertised salaries of 6.7% y/y. This large industry encompasses a range of occupations, from Automotive Trades and Gardening & Landscaping to Hair & Beauty Services. Growth in advertised salaries in Trades & Services has moderated slightly in the past quarter compared to the previous few quarters, but remains robust.
A range of white-collar professional industries experienced the slowest growth in advertised salaries. Government continues to experience modest growth, although the past quarter has seen a turnaround.
Table 2: SEEK Advertised Salary Index growth by industry, April 2023
ANALYSIS: FASTEST GROWTH AT THE BOTTOM END
Advertised salaries are growing fastest for the lowest-paid jobs. This has been true for much of the pandemic period, but the trend has been particularly pronounced in the past year, as shown in Figure 6.
Salaries for the lowest paid salary group rising by 5.4% y/y to April, while the top end rose by a more modest 3.6%. Interestingly, the middle salary group has fared the worst over the year to April, with advertised salary growth of just 3.1%.
The strong growth in advertised salaries for the lowest paid group of jobs partly reflects strong demand for workers in lower-paid industries. It also reflects the relatively high rise in the National Minimum Wage (5.2%) and award wages (4.6%-5.2%) in the second half of 2022.
Figure 5: Year-on-year growth in SEEK ASI by salary group
Note: Seasonally adjusted. Each of 348 subclassifications is assigned to a salary quintile based on its average advertised salary in 2019. Note that these quintiles have an (approximately) equal number of subclassifications in them – they do not contain an equal number of job advertisements. Source: SEEK.
- ENDS -
When reporting SEEK data, we request that you attribute SEEK as the source and refer to SEEK as an employment marketplace.
Commentary relating to the SEEK ASI can be attributed to Matt Cowgill, SEEK Senior Economist.
About the SEEK ASI
The SEEK ASI measures the change in advertised salaries over time for jobs posted on SEEK in Australia, removing much of the effect of compositional change. The SEEK ASI is a complement to existing data about the growth in wages and salaries in Australia, including the ABS Wage Price Index (WPI). The WPI is a measure of the pace of wages growth across the economy, for jobs that are currently occupied. The SEEK ASI provides a timely and frequent read on the pulse of advertised salary growth in Australia for vacant roles.
More information about how the SEEK ASI is put together can be found here. The data for the SEEK ASI can be found here.
Disclaimer
The Data should be viewed and regarded as standalone information and should not be aggregated with any other information whether such information has been previously provided by SEEK Limited, ("SEEK"). The Data is given in summary form and whilst care has been taken in its preparation, SEEK makes no representations whatsoever about its completeness or accuracy. SEEK expressly bears no responsibility or liability for any reliance placed by you on the Data, or from the use of the Data by you. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately.
About SEEK
SEEK has been helping Australians live more fulfilling and productive working lives for 25 years.
SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprised of a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. As a market leader in online employment marketplaces that span ten countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America, SEEK makes a positive contribution to people’s lives on a global scale.
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, SEEK was recognised as one of Australia’s Top Ten Places to Work in Tech in the AFR BOSS Best Places to Work awards.
