Advertised Salary Index - October

The SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) measures the growth in advertised salaries for jobs posted on SEEK in Australia. This quarterly SEEK ASI report contains industry and state trends. There will be briefer monthly reports in December and January.

• Advertised salaries rose by 0.2% in October, the slowest month-on-month (m/m) growth since December 2021.

• Year-on-year (y/y) advertised salary growth has declined for six months in a row to 3.6% and has broadly been trending down from 4.8% since mid-2023.

• Advertised salaries grew fastest in Queensland, rising 4.1% in the year to October, although the monthly rate of growth has slowed relative to the same time last year.

• The rate of annual growth in the largest states continues to slow, at 3.5% y/y for Victoria and 3.3% y/y for NSW.

• Sport & Recreation grew the fastest y/y up 6.7%, likely driven by a notable increase in labour demand in the industry since June.

• Advertising, Arts & Media up 1.2% has had relatively weak growth in advertised salaries in recent months, consistent with subdued demand and well down on the level of demand seen in 2022.

SEEK Senior Economist, Dr Blair Chapman says:

“Advertised salary growth continues to slow, but at 3.6% year-ended advertised salaries are still growing faster than inflation.”

“The slowdown is consistent with a more balanced labour market and the increase in applications per ad we have seen over the last year or so.” 

“With the pace of monthly advertised wage growth slowing in 2024 relative to 2023, annual growth is likely to continue to slow.”

“The effects of public sector enterprise agreements agreed earlier this year can be seen in the advertised salary growth of Government roles, which has sat around 4% year-ended in recent months.” 

Advertised salaries rose by 0.2% m/m, the slowest monthly growth rate since December 2021. October’s monthly advertised salary growth is in line with the typical monthly growth seen in October prior to the onset of COVID-19.

Despite the recent slowing, annual growth remains solid at 3.6% in the year to October 2024, above the 2 to 2.5% seen in 2017 to end 2019, although down from its peak of 4.8% in the year to September 2023. 

Advertised salaries rose fastest in Queensland, rising 4.1% in the year to October, although the monthly rate of growth has slowed relative to the same time last year. This suggests that annual growth may continue slowing in Queensland from here.

The rate of annual growth in the largest states continues to slow, at 3.5% for Victoria and 3.3% for NSW, consistent with applications increasing relative to labour demand in these states.

South Australia was the only state where monthly advertised salary growth in October this year was faster than the same time last year, increasing growth in the year to October 2024 to 3.6% y/y from 3.3% y/y in September.

After solid growth in late 2023 and in the first few months of this year, advertised salary growth has slowed markedly in Tasmania, with year-ended growth down to 3.1% in October from a peak of 6.6% in April.

Advertised salary growth in the Sport & Recreation industry was the fastest over the year to October at 6.7% y/y, reflecting notable increases in the ASI in recent months alongside a significant increase in demand since June.

The Legal industry had the second fastest advertised salary growth in October at 6.2% y/y alongside a notable pick-up in demand over the six months to October relative to the same period in 2023.

Education & Training continues to experience relatively strong advertised salary growth at 5.3% y/y in October, although the pace has slowed since its peak of 7.5% over the year to May. Demand for labour in the industry has declined since 2022 and 2023, but it remains elevated compared to earlier years.

At the other end of the scale, Advertising, Arts & Media recorded the slowest growth of any major industry, at just 1.2% in the year to October. Demand in the industry has remained flat since the start of the year and is well down compared to 2022 

After trailing overall advertised salary growth in 2022 and 2023, advertised salaries for Government roles grew faster over the year to October 2024, at 4.0% y/y. The increase is consistent with the 4.0% wage increases incorporated in many federal government agreements approved earlier this year.

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’ WPI. The WPI is a measure of the pace of wages growth across the economy.

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 and the data files associated with this report can be found here.