Total wages and salaries paid by employers rose to $103.9 billion in June 2025, up 5.9 per cent on June 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
ABS head of labour statistics, Sean Crick, said: ‘The 5.9 per cent annual growth in total wages and salaries paid by employers between June 2024 and June 2025 was similar to the annual growth we saw to June 2024, when wages grew by 6.0 per cent.’
Across the 2024–25 financial year, employers paid $1,219 billion in wages and salaries, also up 5.9 per cent on 2023–24 and a step down from the 7.0 per cent growth recorded between 2022–23 and 2023–24.
‘Total wages and salaries paid by employers totalled $1,219 billion in the 2024-25 financial year, growing 5.9 per cent from the 2023-24 financial year.
‘This was lower than the 7.0 per cent between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 years.’ Mr Crick said.
The ABS cautioned that monthly aggregates can be affected by changes in the number of people paid, hours worked, seasonal patterns and one‑off events, and said comparing the sum of 12 months offers a clearer read on underlying trends.
Health care and social assistance held the largest share of total wages and salaries in 2024–25 at 14.6 per cent. The industry’s $14.8 billion annual increase accounted for 21.6 per cent of the total rise in wages and salaries across the economy.
Public administration and safety recorded the second‑largest annual increase in dollar terms, up $8.5 billion, with stronger growth than in 2023–24. The ABS said this was influenced by large state government pay rises, one‑off backpay and temporary jobs associated with the May 2025 federal election.
Other sizeable contributions in 2024–25 included construction ($6.7 billion), education and training ($5.5 billion) and professional, scientific and technical services ($5.0 billion). Mining’s increase slowed to $2.0 billion, while information media and telecommunications rose by $1.1 billion.
The ABS said the figures are calendar‑adjusted to aid comparison between months but are not yet seasonally adjusted. As an aggregate measure, they capture compositional shifts such as pay rises, periodic payments, variations in hours paid and changes in employment, and complement the ABS Wage Price Index. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
