ABS: Fall in payroll jobs continues into August

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released Payroll Jobs and Wages data, which shows that payroll jobs fell 0.8% in the month to 13 August 2022, following a 0.6% fall in the month to 16 July 2022:

Total wages paid also decreased by 1.4%, compared to a decrease of 0.5% in the previous fortnight.

Lauren Ford, head of labour statistics at the ABS, noted that “the slightly lower number of payroll jobs continued to reflect the ongoing impacts of short-term employee absences from COVID-19 and other illnesses during winter, within a tight labour market.”