Australia's hourly gender pay gap continues its downward trend
The hourly gender pay gap dipped to 8.4% in May 2025, continuing a downward trend since 2021, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest Employee Earnings and Hours report revealed that hourly earnings were $47.90 overall, with men earning an average of $50.20 per hour, while women earned $46.00.
This is equivalent to an 8.4% difference between how men and women are paid, according to the report.
"This is a narrowing of 0.5 percentage points over two years from 8.9% in May 2023," said Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.
"Hourly pay is one of the indicators used by the ABS to measure the gender pay gap. Comparing hourly pay is useful as women are more likely to work part-time than men."
On a weekly basis, the average earnings of Australians reached $1,611, with men earning an average of $1,871, while women earned $1,372.
More full-time employees were men, with higher average earnings of $2,241 a week, compared with women's $1,966 a week.
On the other hand, part-time employees are more likely to be women, who earn a higher average of $882 per week than part-time male employees on $853 a week.
Earnings by occupation
By occupation, managers reported the highest median weekly earnings of $2,596, followed by Professionals at $1,979.
The lowest median weekly earnings of all occupations were recorded among sales workers ($818) and community and personal service workers ($968).
"Distributional data showed that someone earning more than $2,122 a week, was in the highest paid quarter of employees in May 2025. Someone earning less than $878 per week was in the lowest quarter for the same period," Crick said.
The Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours is carried out every two years with a May reference period, providing insights into hourly and weekly earnings for men and women.
It also informs some of the government's measures of the gender pay gap.
Australia's gender pay gap reached its lowest-ever level at 11.5%, according to ABS data in 2025. Separate data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) put the gender pay gap for the private sector at 21.1%.
