Research projects modest 09 pay rises

Zsa-Zsa Bowie Wilson and Kate Southam

New research predicts modest salary increases or unchanged salary levels this financial year.

Recruitment giant Hays released its survey on June 1 that shows salary levels in most sectors have plateaued. Meanwhile the Australian Institute of Management [AIM] and the Melbourne Institute both released major salary research that predicted modest wage growth but also more job losses.

Hays looked at more than 1,000 job titles across 16 sectors in 12 locations in Australia and New Zealand and surveyed 1,700 leading Australian and New Zealand employers.

Nigel Heap, Hays CEO, said sign on bonuses had become a “thing of the past” and in most sectors salary levels had stalled after years of increases.

“In the vast majority of cases, the premium salary that employers offered to attract a new recruit has all but disappeared, with starting salaries for new employees now largely in line with the salaries of existing employees,” Mr Heap said. (See your salary range by clicking on the Hays Salary Survey link below the heading Salary Resources on the Salary Centre landing page).

AIM’s annual National Salary Survey of 759 companies revealed that employers of organisations turning over $10 million or more forecasted an average wage increase of 3.5 per cent for 2009/2010 down on last year’s national average of 4.3 percent

Western Australian topped the list with pay rise growth of 5.1 per cent followed by Queensland at 4.8 per cent. Tasmanians and Victorians were the biggest losers with an average salary rise of just 4 per cent, three per cent below the national average and an expectation of a 3.1 per cent wage increase for 2009/2010.

The survey also revealed that 23.5 per cent of companies predicted reducing their permanent staff levels in the coming year – an increase of 8.4 per cent from 2008/2009.

Data from the Melbourne Institute also revealed a slow down in pay growth. The survey, which recorded the rate of total pay and hourly pay nationally for individuals over the last 12 months, reported pay growth to have slowed to an average of 3.3 per cent with only a modest 2.6 per cent growth expected for 2009/2010.

Dr Edda Claus, research fellow at the Melbourne Institute said the slow down was consistent with a “cooling labour market.”

“South Australia had the highest and the ACT the lowest growth in total pay and basic hourly wages over the past 12 months to May 2009,” Dr Claus revealed.