Australia’s job market is experiencing a shift as certain roles experience significant increases in advertised salaries, reflecting growing demand and ongoing talent shortages.
New data from job listings website SEEK has revealed the top 10 jobs that experienced the fastest growth in 2024, with salaries for some roles increasing more than 20 per cent since January.
The data compares average advertised salaries between January to March 2024 and August to October 2024, revealing roles with notable percentage increases.
Data from SEEK shows the top jobs with the fastest wage growth in 2024. Source: SBS News
The top role with the fastest salary growth in Australia in 2024 was operations team member in the field of manufacturing, transport and logistics, with a 21.1 per cent increase to an annual salary of $64,969.
Next was a support engineer in engineering field with a 17.3 per cent rise to $107,221, and an alarm technician in the trades and services field with a 15.4 per cent growth to $93,536.
Demand and talent shortages in key industries
According to Leigh Broderick, Seek’s head of market data and customer analytics, key sectors such as education, infrastructure, and trades and manufacturing have been driving the trend.
“The increasing demand for these workers, coupled with ongoing talent shortages and a willingness to offer higher salaries for more specialised and technical roles, is likely driving larger pay increases in these positions,” he said.
“As salary continues to remain top of mind for many Australians amid the rising cost of living, this data offers valuable insights for individuals who are looking to upskill or explore new opportunities and make an informed decision about their future career path,” he said.
Navigating a changing job market
With the rising cost of living, many Australians are re-evaluating their career paths and salary potential, with the number of people holding multiple jobs also increasing over the year.
According to the , workers are also seeking higher earnings . There are now 986,400 multiple job holders, compared to 13.5 million single job holders.
This was up 2.8 per cent from June 2024 when there were 959,500 people working multiple roles.
More women than men were working multiple jobs (7.7 per cent compared with 5.8 per cent for men).
Over the past five years, on average, the multiple job-holding rate amongst women has been around 1.8 percentage points higher than that of men.
