Mining, generic

The average full-time Australian worker is now bringing in over $2000 a week for the first time in history.

Fresh figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found the average ordinary full-time weekly earnings for adults reached $2011.40 before tax in May.

Seasonally adjusted, this average weekly cash earning jumped by 4.5 per cent from the same period last year.

Mining, generic
Full-time workers in the mining industry earned the highest weekly salary before tax. (iStock)

It is the first time this figure has surpassed $2000 per week.

The ABS figure calculates how much an employee earns per week in regular work hours, not including overtime and is before tax.

There was a noticeable variation in earning power between the genders.

Men in Australia earned a full-time average of $2106.40 per week while women brought in an average of $1864.10 per week.

The gender pay gap, however, narrowed slightly from 11.9 per cent to 11.5.

“For the first time, average weekly ordinary earnings for full-time adults have surpassed $2000,” stated Sean Crick, head of labour statistics at the ABS.

“Annual growth in May 2025 remained high at 4.5 per cent, a rise of $86.60 a week from May 2024.

“This was just below the annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the year to November 2024.”

The ABS reported that among states and territories, workers in the ACT earned the highest average weekly ordinary earnings at $2236, with Western Australia coming next at $2154.

Wage growth May 2025
A graph showing average weekly ordinary cash earnings for full-time workers in Australia. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

Tasmanian workers recorded the lowest at $1793.

The highest-paid full-time workers are employed in the mining industry and earn an average $3174 per week.

Meanwhile, the lowest average full-time salary is earned by workers in accommodation and food services, sitting at $1459.

Workers in the public sector earned the most per week at ($2167), compared to those in the private sector ($1966).

The unemployment rate also fell to 4.2 per cent for the month of July.

This followed a small spike in the jobless figure last month.

The number of newly employed Australians jumped by 25,000 people this month, buoyed by a record-high level of women joining the workforce.

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