What Australia’s salary ups and downs might mean for hiring

Shaped by local and global forces, some jobs have rocketed in value while others tumbled. As we approach 2020, SEEK’s Senior Employment Trends Analyst, Leigh Broderick looks back at the 20 best and 20 worst performing salaries and shares his insights into where Australian salaries may head in the decade to come.

Three trends driving the top performers

Super storms into the lead

Would employers have guessed that superannuation would take the number one spot with a salary rise of 46%? The industry has certainly undergone rapid expansion – according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, superannuation assets in Australia grew to $2.8 trillion by the end of the March 2019 quarter. Interestingly, however, there hasn’t been corresponding growth in the number of available roles, suggesting the increase in salaries we’re seeing in the SEEK data has been driven by specialisation.

Rise of a caring nation

No less than eight of the 20 fastest risers were in health and education. These included teachers and carers in every age group from preschool to secondary school and people working in aged care, disability support, child welfare and youth and family services. This suggests recognition for those traditionally at the lower end of the scale.

Hiring professionals have seen consistent year-on-year growth in demand for people in Healthcare and Education as the population grows and ages and initiatives such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are introduced. According to the Federal Government, spending on health grew by about 50% in real terms to $16 billion over the decade to 2015-16 and, today, healthcare and education combined are Australia’s largest employers by far. 

STEM burns bright

Few employers would be surprised to see that careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, take up three of the top 20 places. The Australian Government regards high-quality STEM education as critically important for our current and future productivity, yet between 2008 and 2018, the proportion of people studying these subjects fell despite heavy government promotion. The consequent skills shortage can’t be resolved overnight and is more likely to intensify, so it seems the value of qualified professionals in STEM will continue to increase.

Australia's Top 20 salary gains

Source: SEEK Salary Review, annual full-time salary averages by role type, 2011/12-2018/19, SEEK.

Three forces shaping downward moves

Mighty mining finds itself in a hole
The mining downturn has been a big story for so long that most employers would expect to see a fall in salaries. In fact, Mining, Resources & Energy claimed a dispiriting nine of the 20 lowest places on our list. But, looking at the inflated starting point, employers could see this as a correction rather than a fall. Rebounding commodity prices and the consequent return of salary growth in the industry suggest the future could be brighter, though the cyclical nature of mining means this is definitely an industry to keep your eye on.

Construction cops collateral damage
Hiring managers were well aware of how closely construction was tied to the mining industry at the beginning of the 2010s. Then, as that boom ended, the sector picked up again, due to residential construction. This growth is now starting to slow, so the hope is that investment in public infrastructure will help to pick up the slack for the 1.1 million Australians employed directly by the sector.

Legal eagles have their wings clipped
Of the 350+ role types that SEEK tracks, employers might be surprised to see that the biggest fall went to Legal Professionals who were Generalists in a Law Firm. Paul Rawlinson, Global Chair of law firm Baker McKenzie, has said that, while 30 years ago clients might pay millions to have thousands of documents manually reviewed, today much of that labour has been handed over to machines. That doesn’t necessarily mean lawyers are surplus to requirements – it’s more likely that spending less time on tedious manual tasks frees them up to be more productive, creative and efficient. It could also explain how Generalist Lawyers suffered a 21% fall in salary. Rather than being less valuable, they could well be doing more specialised work.

Australia's 20 biggest salary falls