26 February 2009

Average weekly pay now $1166

And they wonder why bosses are making those cuts in staff quickly and deeply!

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,25109446-462,00.html

Average weekly earnings

Pay jump ... ABS data shows Australian workers now take home $1166 a week


* Average weekly pay hits $1165
* Miners, bankers paid the most
* Mining slump: 2000 jobs cut

AUSTRALIAN workers now take home an average of $1166.50 gross a week, 5.5 per cent more than what they were pocketing a year earlier.

And miners continue to be the nation's best paid workers, taking home an average of $1965 a week. That's an increase of nearly 7 per cent from a year earlier.

Construction workers, riding on the coat tails of the mining boom, also posted a hefty wage jump of more than 8 per cent, taking their average weekly wage to $1194.

ANZ senior economist Katie Dean said the rise in average wages reflected a strong jobs market during the first half of 2008.

Ms Dean said policy makers were more concerned about a slowing economy.

"This strong wages growth is largely a historical byproduct of a strong labour market," Ms Dean said.

Finance and insurance workers posted a 4 per cent rise to $1442 per week in the year to November, while workers in property and business services posted a 6 per cent jump to $1283.