Coal fuels top wage
A SURGE of activity in Central Queensland’s coal mining region has pushed it to the No. 1 position in a national wages survey.
Analysis of more than 50,000 job vacancies by jobs website adzuna . com. au has revealed the postcode areas where advertised average salaries are highest, and therefore where jobseekers are most likely to pocket the biggest pay cheques.
Postcodes starting with 46 and 47, which represent the Gladstone and Bowen regions of Queensland, ranked 1st and 3rd in the survey, with average salaries in the areas sitting at $ 129,024 and $ 101,170 respectively.
Townsville showed an average advertised salary of $ 86,906, while the mark for the wider North Queensland region, including Cairns, was $ 89,215.
Raife Watson, CEO of adzuna . com. au, said the key drivers to wages growth in the Central Queensland region included new coal mining projects in the Bowen Basin and the flowon effect to the ports in Gladstone.
“We have not seen coal prices increase at this rate since 2011,” he said.
“In response, the Palaszczuk Government has issued new mining leases in the region, and jobs growth in both mining and construction should continue as a result.
“The Gladstone Port will also reap the benefits of the global demand for coal and jobs in logistics will increase steadily as exports ramp up.”
A recent report by Adzuna reveals job ads in the mining sector increased 10 per cent over the past six months and job ads in logistics more than double that at 22.84 per cent.
Postcodes starting with 26, which include all suburbs in the ACT, came in at No. 2 in the wages survey, with the average salary sitting at $ 103,752.
South Australia has the highest number of postcodes at the lower end of the salary scale.
“Our map shows that Australia’s capital cities provide the best opportunities for work at a higher rate of pay,” Mr Watson said.
“In saying this, our capital cities are becoming overpopulated and the quality of living is starting to diminish.
“If you focus on a career in healthcare, or in any of the STEM areas, there will be opportunities for you to move to regional areas of Australia and still have the opportunity to earn an above- average salary in a location without the traffic and exorbitant house prices.”