Australian Workplace Demographics

Australian Remuneration Movements
Analysis of current remuneration trends and salary forecasts in Australia, inform us of the evolving nature of employment cost movements and industry-specific salary trends. In the last quarter of 2023, the median employment cost (EC) movement was observed at 4.5%, which is above the inflation rate of 4.0%. This figure includes various components of EC like base salary, cash allowances, and benefits, but excludes variable rewards. Additionally, there was a noted increase in the official unemployment rate to 3.9%.

For 2024, the forecast suggests that total salary increases will vary between 3.5% and 4.5%, with the median expected to be 4.0%.

Throughout the first three quarters of 2023, the median EC movement, indicating the year-on-year salary changes for identical employees in the same roles at the same organisations, consistently increased, stabilising at 4.5% in the final quarter. Upon examining the data across different states and territories, four out of the eight regions reported figures that either met or exceeded the overall median EC movement.