Seek job data reveals the rich are getting richer

Exclusive analysis of SEEK job ad data reveals the professions that have experienced the most salary growth are those on six figures.

Exclusive: Australia’s highest-earners are more likely to see salaries increase — and by a bigger margin.

Exclusive analysis of SEEK job ad data revealed 88 per cent of job categories that averaged a six-figure pay packet experienced salary growth in the year to May, increasing by an average of 4 per cent.

The rest of the job market had a lower 82 per cent chance of a salary increase and averaged just 3 per cent growth.

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Job categories that averaged a six-figure pay packet experienced salary growth in the year to May.

Hays managing director for Victoria, Tasmania and ACT Tim James said only a “selected community of professionals” were attracting pay rises while wage growth overall was “sluggish”.

Although he had not noticed a trend of Australia’s highest earners being preferenced over the rest of the workforce, he said there was a correlation between salary and skill.

“We are seeing (employers) being far more selective in where they offer the increases,” he said.

“It’s probably a view of being more strategic — the skills in demand are being given higher increases to attract and retain them, while the skills not in demand are not getting increases at all.”

Australian Government forecasts predicted almost half (45 per cent) of new jobs created between 2018 and 2023 would require the equivalent of a bachelor degree or higher.

The overall number of these jobs was expected to grow by 10 per cent over the five years — ahead of general job growth of 7 per cent.

The SEEK salary findings come as research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Roy Morgan also reveal declining income and wealth distribution.

Almost half (45 per cent) of new jobs created between 2018 and 2023 would require the equivalent of a bachelor degree or higher.

The ABS’ latest Household Income and Wealth report showed in the year to 2017-18, economic inequality — measured by the Gini coefficient — increased by 1.5 per cent based on disposable household income and by 2.6 per cent based on household net worth.

Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Wealth Report for June 2019 found over the past 12 years average net personal wealth — assets minus debt — increased for everyone except the least wealthy 10 per cent of Australians, which remained unchanged.

Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said the top-earning 10 per cent of the population now accounted for 47.9 per cent of Australians’ personal net wealth, up from 46.9 per cent in 2007, prior to the GFC.

By contrast, the lowest-earning 50 per cent of the population now accounted for just 3.7 per cent of the country’s total personal net wealth, down from 4.5 per cent.

“The reasons for an increase in share at the top end is that they are generally older with higher incomes and have their own home and higher levels of super,” she said.

“Conversely, the bottom 50 per cent are mostly younger and so, with lower levels of home ownership, have not benefited from the housing boom or growth in super returns.”