Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland experienced the highest salary increase in Australia, a survey has found.
Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland experienced the highest salary increase in Australia, a survey has found.
The 2008 Hays Salary Survey, which covers 16 employment sectors and hundreds of job roles across Australia and New Zealand, reports Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland experienced the notable salary increases in Australia.
"The majority of employers reported increases in salaries of between 3 and 6%," said Jane McNeill, Senior Regional Director of Hays in Perth.
"This reaffirms the solid base upon which Australasia's business strength is built. Steady jobs growth is still the dominant feature of Australasia's recruitment market and there are plenty of examples of significant salary increases that testify to its ongoing strength.
"In fact, 50% of respondents expect permanent staffing levels to increase while only 4% see any decrease over the coming 12 months.
"The slow-down in the banking and related sectors is very contained; as yet we have seen no evidence of any negative impact across the broader job market. In fact, the number of new jobs registered remains at record levels, the demand for specialist skills is up and we're doing more overseas campaigning for skills than ever before.
"The level of infrastructure investment also shows no sign of abating across Australia and New Zealand, causing further continued pressure on candidate sourcing and salaries and affirming the strength of Australia and New Zealand's recruitment market.
"Logically, the highest salary increases over the year have occurred for roles where the need for candidates is highest," said Jane.
Notable trends by industry:
38% of construction, property and engineering employers increased salaries above 6%.
39% of mining and resources employers increased salaries above 6%.
45% of professional services employers increased salaries above 6%.
Perth salary hotspots:
Accountancy & Finance: At the support level, Accounts Receivable, Credit Control and Payroll candidates experienced the highest salary increases. For example, the typical salary for a Senior Payroll Clerk increased in Perth from $52,000 to $58,000.
Within the profession, Auditors have seen their salaries rise sharply. For example, typical salaries for an External Auditor (CA/CPA complete with 3-4 years experience) increased in Perth from $71,000 to $77,000 and for an External Audit Graduate with 3+ years experience from $60,000 to $66,000.
Solid increases were also noted for entry-level Management Consultants and Corporate Finance candidates.
Banking: While many banking employers focused on improving company benefits, work environments and performance based bonuses nationally, there were many exceptions in Perth.
In fact geographically, Perth and Adelaide experienced the solid increases. For example, in operations support the typical salaries increased for Mortgage Settlement Officers from $46,000 to $53,000 in Perth.
Residential lending is another example, where typical salaries increased from $119,000 to $135,000 for a Senior Manager in Perth.
Other notable Perth salary movements over the year occurred for corporate and commercial lending professionals and rural lending staff.
Construction & Property: In Perth the roles to watch were in architecture (for example where the maximums of the salary ranges increased for a Graduate Architect from $45,000 to $55,000 and for a Town/Urban Planner from $90,000 to $95,000) and engineering (for example, increasing from $75,000 to $95,000 for a building services design consultancy CAD Manager and from $90,000 to $110,000 for a Civil/Structural Engineer). Perth also had notable construction building increases.
Contact Centres: Whilst salaries were stable over the last 12 months, more employers offered attractive bonus/benefit packages.
Human Resources: Geographically Perth along with Adelaide and Brisbane experienced the major increases. For example, in Perth the typical salaries increased from $190,000 to $200,000 for a HR Director, $75,000 to $80,000 for OH&S Consultants and $70,000 to $75,000 for Learning & Development Consultants.
Information Technology: Within development Architects received the main increases, rising from $100,000 to $110,000 in Perth. Within infrastructure, Helpdesk Support/Service Desk (1-2 years experience) received the notable increases in all locations, with an 11.6 percent average increase nationally, and in Perth rising from $40,000 to $47,500. The notable business increase occurred for CIO's ($175,000 to $200,000).
Insurance: In Perth, Underwriter and Senior Underwriter salaries increased strongly, from $55,000 to $80,000 and $76,000 to $95,000 respectively.
Legal: Within private practice there were no dramatic increases in salaries, although the most obvious movements occurred for those with 3 years PAE in top and mid-tiers in Perth, where salaries increased from $85,000 to $90,000 and $80,000 to $85,000 respectively.
With more companies electing to bring legal counsel inhouse rather than relying solely on a panel of legal firms, there have been some notable salary increases. For example, for Legal Counsel with 5 years PAE the maximum of the salary range increased in Perth from $125,000 to $150,000.
Logistics: Transport Managers clearly received the biggest salary increases, with salaries increasing by a staggering 27 percent across the country.
Transport Allocators, Distribution Managers and Logistics Project Mangers also received strong increases.
Manufacturing & Ops: Project Engineers (5+ years experience) clearly received the biggest salary increases with salaries rising by a staggering 29.3 percent across the country. Process Engineers also received strong increases of 28.3 percent, followed by Graduate Engineers (all disciplines) at 11.5 percent.
Office Support: Geographically, Perth, Brisbane/Gold Coast and Adelaide offered the strongest increases overall. For example, the typical salaries increased for a Perth Personal/Team Assistant from $50,000 to $60,000 and for an Executive Assistant from $50,000 to a staggering $75,000. Other increases of note occurred within legal and banking & finance support.
Oil & Gas Geologists received higher salaries because of limited candidate supply. For example, the maximum of the salary ranges increased at the entry-level in Western Australia to $120,000, at the Intermediate level to $170,000 and at the Senior level to $220,000.
Procurement: Purchasing Managers, Directors and Contract Administrators received the notable salary increases nationally.
Resources & Mining: Despite the market's strength, the rapid rise in salaries seen across all areas of the mining, engineering and construction markets over recent years has reached a plateau.
This is most evident in Western Australia. There were however some exceptions, such as metalliferous geology where the maximum of the salary ranges increased for an Exploration Manager in WA from $160,000 to $195,000.
Within metalliferous mining engineering Mining Engineers were a stand-out, with the maximum of the salary ranges rising from $110,000 to $130,000. Coal technical positions and industrial design also saw some notable increases.
Sales & Marketing: The notable increase occurred for Brand Managers, which increased by 14.9 percent nationally and in Perth increased from $70,000 to $80,000.
