By Sue White
An overwhelming majority of employees will be on the hunt for a new job in the next 12 months, according to Australia’s largest report on salary and recruitment trends, released this week.
More than 15,000 professionals from more than 26 industries in Australia and New Zealand responded to this year’s Hays Salary Guide. The data shows that cost of living is the No.1 reason driving the 77 per cent of employees planning to hunt for a new job in the next year.
Three-quarters of Australians say their salaries don’t match their performance.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
But while 61 per cent are looking for a pay rise of more than 3 per cent in their pending move, and 86 per cent of employers plan to provide one, the chief executive of Hays Asia Pacific, Matthew Dickason, says the data points to a problem.
“Forty per cent of employees have said they’re dissatisfied with their salaries, and roughly three-quarters (73 per cent) don’t believe their salary reflects their performance,” he says. “This shows that there is a mismatch between what employees want and what employers are willing to offer, which we’re likely to see play out over the next year as more Australians seek jobs with larger pay packets.”
This misalignment has worsened over the past few years, according to Dickason. “In just five years, we have seen the expectation that salaries should increase above the 6 per cent rate more than double,” he says.
“In 2019, 67 per cent of employees expected a pay rise of less than 3 per cent; this figure has almost flipped in 2024. Now, 61 per cent expect an increase of more than 3 per cent.”
Not all employees have the skills or experience to attract the biggest pay rises on offer, but for those who do, the rewards are significant.
As employees on the lookout for more cash look to switch jobs, a patchy easing of the recent skills shortage is expected to play a role.
“The past two years have been heavily skewed in the candidate’s favour,” says Dickason. “The extreme skills shortages had meant that employees held significant bargaining power. However, there has been a levelling of the playing field with skills shortages easing slightly. That said, switching jobs is still the No.1 way to get a pay rise.”
Of the industries considered in the data, government employees were most likely to be looking for or planning to look for a new job (87 per cent of employees), followed by banking (84 per cent), healthcare (84 per cent), manufacturing (79 per cent) and construction and engineering (each 78 per cent).
Hays Asia Pacific chief executive Matthew Dickason says the past few years have been heavily skewed in favour of jobseekers.
Naturally, not all employees have the skills or experience to attract the biggest pay rises on offer. But for those who do, the rewards on offer are significant.
“The unexpectedly high salary in mining is for anyone who can operate a jumbo – the heavy excavators,” says Dickason. “Because of its specialised nature, jumbo operators can in some instances earn up to $330,000. It’s a larger salary than a registered mining manager, who typically makes $300,000.”
For those out of the mines, industries most likely to get a bump in pay based on employer expectations include accountancy/finance, human resources, engineering, marketing and life sciences.
Looking beyond the bottom line of individual employees, Oxford Economics director Kristian Kolding believes the survey data supports the evidence that the economy is slowing and the labour market is softening.
“The unprecedented volatility of the past few years is now behind us – the challenge for businesses and employees will be to find a path to success in the new-normal world,” he says.
With 75 per cent of employees working remotely or hybrid, and those numbers expected to hold, the “where” we work now seems settled. As for the “how” of employers funding pay rises? That comes down to productivity.
“As an economist, I would argue that the employers who enjoy an increasingly productive workforce will be the ones who can best afford to provide pay rises beyond the rate of inflation,” Dickason says.
Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.