New data from SEEK shows advertised salaries were up 3.1% but growth slowed since the start of the year
New salary data for human resources and recruitment professionals shows growth in advertised salaries for the year to April 2025 is up 3.1%, according to a new salary growth report from SEEK.
The job site's latest Advertised Salary Index revealed advertised salary growth for HR and recruitment employees grew by 3.1% from April 2024 to April 2025 but this down from the annual growth recorded in January, when the HR and recruitment industry logged a 4.6% increase.
The slower annual growth comes as the industry's advertised salary growth went backwards by -0.3% from January to April 2025.
Overall, Australia's advertised salary growth went up 3.6% year-on-year over the year to April, while also growing by 0.3% month-on-month.
"Advertised salary growth has been broadly steady at around 3.6% year-ended for six months with stable monthly growth around 0.3% since December," said Blair Chapman, SEEK senior economist, in a statement.
"For the first time since early 2022, the annual growth in advertised salaries is faster than the growth in living costs for employee households, which was 3.4% y/y in the March quarter."
The legal industry logged the fastest advertised salary growth over the year to April, logging 6.6%. This is followed by Banking and Financial Services (6.1%), and then Consulting and Strategy (6.0%).
By location, the Northern Territory saw the fastest increase in advertised salary after rising 4.2% in the year to April.
"Advertised salary growth in the territory finished 2024 strongly after a weak start and that momentum has carried into 2025," SEEK said.
Queensland's advertised salary also remained strong, with its month-on-month growth averaging 0.4% since the beginning of 2023.
The state's annual advertised salary growth has also remained above four per cent in trend terms in the same period and had only dipped to 3.9% in seasonally adjusted terms for a single month, according to SEEK.
"Population and employment are continuing to grow faster than they had pre-COVID, supporting labour demand in the state," it said.
On the other hand, SEEK noted that Tasmania's advertised salaries have "virtually stopped growing" after a few months of slightly stable growth.
"This likely reflects the relatively weak labour market in the state with little change in employment over the year to March alongside a decline in labour force participation," it said.
The report comes as wages across the country went up 3.4% in the year to March 2025 following the impact of enterprise agreements in the public sector, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
