Australians earning more per week

There are a whole range of things mortgage brokers should keep up to date with, not just house prices and lending statistics. A glance across wage and earnings statistics can give a good indication of consumer sentiment – and how likely people are to take out a loan in the near future. The most recent wage price and average earning statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will likely give mortgage brokers something to cheer about.

The data revealed that wage prices climbed 0.6 per cent in the December quarter last year, while jumping 2.5 per cent over 2014 as a whole. Similarly, average earnings surged across all categories. In original terms, full-time employees earned 2.8 per cent more over the 12 months to November 2014, while all workers saw weekly earning climb 1.3 per cent.

The results had some interesting insights into industry, state and sector trends. ABS statistics revealed that wages in the public sector rose at a marginally higher rate than in the private sector, increasing 0.7 per cent compared to 0.6 in the December quarter, and 2.7 per cent against 2.5 per cent across the year. ABS attributed the rise in the public sector to state and local government pay rises, and this was also reflected in state trends.

The Australian Capital Territory has the largest number of public sector employees and also saw the highest average full-time earnings, where adults working ordinary time earned $1,702.10 per week. Workers in Western Australia trailed the ACT in second position, earning $1,673.10 per week on average. The mining industry had the greatest influence over earnings in this state. Earnings in this sector were far and away the highest of any industry, which might explain Western Australia’s strong position.

This information could be particularly useful throughout mortgage broker training. Understanding where people are earning more per week could indicate a higher rate of lending as they are able to contribute more income to repayments.