Friday, August 19, 2005 - 08:26 pm, by: Don Bagnall
Aussie wages crack the $A1000 barrier 19 August 2005 By MATT WADE Sydney Morning Herald
In Australia a pay packet of $A1000 a week is no longer anything to brag about.
Full-time adult ordinary-time earnings - the benchmark for Australia's average wage - rose to $A1008.10 a week in the three months to May 31, or $A52,432 a year, the Bureau of Statistics announced yesterday.
Full-time women workers are yet to reach the new pay landmark, averaging $A906 a week compared with men on $A1064.
Miners are the nation's best paid workers among the categories measured by the bureau, with ordinary-time earnings averaging just over $A82,000 a year, followed by finance and insurance workers on $A65,218.
Accommodation, restaurant and cafe workers received the lowest full-time earnings with $A36,556 a year. The army of retail workers average $A43,508 - nearly $A9000 less than the national average.
Wages in the construction industry have risen by about $A9000 in the past three years, outpacing the $A5000 rise in annual average wages across all industries.
"Workers in the construction sector have benefited ? first from the housing boom and now the infrastructure boom," said CommSec economist Craig James.
AdvertisementAdvertisementTotal earnings for male construction workers jumped 16.1 per cent in the past year.
Workers in the ACT are Australia's highest paid workers with an average of $A1167 a week, followed by NSW on $A1051.
In NSW, the average annual wage of $A54,662 is about $A3000 more than in Victoria and $A5000 higher than Queensland. Tasmania had the lowest average full-time wage of $890 a week, or $A46,280 a year.
The bureau's weekly earnings figures showed wages grew 6 per cent in the year to May.
While wages are not putting significant pressure on inflation, several economists warned that if wages growth continued, the chances of an interest rate increase would rise.
When overtime and bonuses are added, the national average weekly wage is $A1060.80 for an annual salary of $A55,161.
Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 10:50 am, by: Ian Johnston
They obviously didnt include poor mechanics wages into their calculations. Although these days with the shortage of good mechanics the dollars are not too bad if you chase the good work.
Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 11:14 am, by: Alan Carter
Hey Don, the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence!!
For those who aren't familiar with N.Z.: When GST was introduced into N.Z., there were no exemptions - all food was taxed as was things like insurance. At the same time, stamp duty was abolished forever. These changes made the purchase of luxury items cheaper but increased the cost of living. However, to offset the higher taxes, income tax was capped at 30 cents in the dollar. Subsequently, the Kiwi govt saw fit to increase the GST to 12.5%.
We bailed out of N.Z. (along with several thousand other Kiwis) before the increase to 12.5%. I'm not sure, but I think the income tax is still capped at around 30 cents in the dollar.
When I was doing software support, my tax rate was 48 cents in the dollar.
Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 02:56 pm, by: David Vaughan
I guess that a histogram of incomes here would not be too different from the general population. Note Pen's comment above. The mean to which he is referring (I presume) is the median, which will be lower than the published average because the latter is dragged up by a small number of people earning a lot. The median is the number where half of all people earn more (whatever it is) and half earn less. I expect it will be nearer $40k than $50k.
There are also problems defining income. Do I (some others here are in similar positions) earn my consulting fees? My salary which I decide to pay myself from my Company? Company profit after expenses? Should a Public Servant count their Defined Benefit Super scheme advantages? Should we correct for age-related expectations of income? There are many more complexities than these.
Further, I very much doubt you would get a complete or survey response, meaning the sample and data will near certainly be skewed.
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