Payroll jobs rose 1.3 per cent nationally over the fortnight to 16 January 2021, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: "All states and territories reported an increase in payroll jobs, ranging from 2.8 per cent in Queensland to 0.5 per cent in the Northern Territory.
"With the start of a second year of data we can see payroll jobs were 1.0 per cent lower in the week ending 16 January 2021 than they were in the week ending 18 January 2020.
"The challenge with new data is to be able to distinguish between changes in the economy and regular seasonal changes. Annual comparisons are a useful way of accounting for seasonality, until we have enough data to produce seasonally adjusted figures."
The Accommodation and food services industry has remained one of the most heavily affected industries across the COVID-19 period. Payroll jobs in this industry in mid-January 2021 were 14.7 per cent lower than mid-March 2020 and 10.9 per cent lower than mid-January 2020.
Although payroll jobs worked by females were hardest hit early in the COVID period, their recovery across 2020 outpaced that of males. In early January 2021, payroll jobs worked by males remained 6.0 per cent lower than mid-March, compared to 5.2 per cent lower for females. By comparison, payroll jobs worked by males were slightly higher than females in mid-January 2020.
