Expect your pay packet to be bursting at the seams this year.
A survey by Hay Group found Australians to be among the highest earners on the planet – and it’s only going to get better, with a salary increase expected for 2012. The management consultancy
firm published findings after monitoring 440 organisations and over 270,000 jobs. Most positively, the Australian Salary Movement Index reported a pay increase of 4 per cent across all industries in Australia.
Researcher and author, Steve Paola said: “Pay and reward is heavily linked to how a company is performing. Organisations will look at investment return [and] their biggest return comes from employees.”
Slamming the common misconception that city dwellers earn more than those working in regional areas, the report actually found the cost of living does not correlate to pay. In fact, Sydneysiders earn 0.1 per cent below the national average. Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide workers all go home with even less. Perth was the only exception, with pay being 1.3 per cent above the norm. Much of this can be attributed to a boom in oil, gas and mining.
“If someone is motivated by pay – and only pay – they may be motivated to move,” Mr Paola said. “But, they would need to take into account the rising cost of housing in remote areas. Perth is among the top 30 for rising house prices, and housing in regional Queensland is more costly than in the cities.” Beyond our back yard, Australian workers are out performing their international counterparts.
The report compared the Australian dollar to the more mature economies of the UK, US and New Zealand. “If we compared wages in Australia and the UK by January 2009’s currency conversion, the salaries would be similar. But in 2012, Australian salaries have shot up” Mr Paola said. “We are driven by the Asian economy, like China’s. Whereas the UK is linked to the European economy, which we know if going through a bad period.”
The USA was pegged just behind Australia for pay and, from developing markets, the UAE ranked second.
The findings may help retain local and attract new, international talent. “This presents a positive and optimistic outlook for Australia in the global market. The gap between our pay and that of mature economies is predicted to keep increasing,” Mr Paola said. “But, there is still a sense of nervousness. We are in a patchwork economy, with more demand for some professions over others.
Organisations will still be wary of another global economic crash.”
