The total wages and salaries in Australia’s retail sector have fallen by $240 million in the March 2025 quarter, compared to the December quarter.
This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which show that total wages paid across the last quarter hit $17.7 billion, down from $17.94 billion in the December quarter.
This is the second-lowest quarter-on-quarter fall across all industries, just behind a $1.2 billion fall in education and training wages and salaries.
Month-on-month, retail wages were up by $22 million from February 2025 to March, and up by $212.4 million annually between March 2024 to March 2025.
Total wages and salaries across all industries were $104.8 billion in March 2025, up 5.8 per cent from $99.0 billion in March 2024. In the quarter, total wages were $306.8 billion.
ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said the total amount for March 2025 is a series high.
“Wages and salaries typically peak in March before falling in April, a seasonal pattern observed in previous years,” Crick said.
“Wages and salaries rose in March due to periodic bonuses paid within some industries, such as mining, wholesale trade and financial and insurance services.”
Crick added that comparing month estimates over a longer period such as a quarter can help give a clearer view of underlying growth.
“Total wages and salaries paid by employers grew 1.1 per cent across the March quarter 2025, similar to the growth seen in the same quarter in 2023 of 1.3 per cent,” he said.
“March quarter growth in 2024 was lower at 0.3 per cent, driven by the combined impact of extreme weather events on the east coast of Australia and relatively tighter labour market conditions.”
Total wages and salaries paid by employers grew in all 19 industries in the year to March 2025.
Annual growth ranged from a 3.7 per cent lift in the mining industry to an 11.9 per cent lift in electricity, gas, water and waste services.
In dollar terms, the rises were greatest in the health care and social assistance services industry (up $1.1 billion or 7.8 per cent), public administration and safety (up $0.6 billion or 8.1 per cent), and construction (up $0.6 billion or 7.1 per cent).
In quarterly terms, the mining industry’s March quarter rise of $1.2 billion included periodic bonuses paid. The education and training industry’s drop of $1.2 billion reflected lower employment over the summer holiday period.
Every state and territory saw a rise in total wages and salaries paid by employers in the year to March 2025, ranging from 3.9 per cent in Tasmania to 7.9 per cent in the Northern Territory.
Annual growth in dollar terms to March 2025 was less than that seen a year earlier in all states and territories, except for the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Annual growth was greatest in New South Wales (up $1.7 billion) and Queensland (up $1.3 billion).