20% pay rise for these Aussie workers
New employees are getting a 19 per cent premium added to their starting salaries, new research by Robert Half has found.
According to the recruitment agency, 93 per cent of Australian business leaders are paying a salary premium to stay competitive when recruiting for in-demand roles, which has caused tension between new hires and existing employees.
“Talent shortages have put pressure on employers to offer new recruits higher pay in a bid to stay competitive in the market, but this response can stir concerns among workforces,” senior managing director of Robert Half Asia Pacific David Jones said.
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Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of Australian business leaders said their employees had raised concerns about pay inequalities in the past 12 months.
Around a third (31 per cent) of office workers thought they were being paid less than new hires in a similar role.
If you’re in this position, it could be worth raising it with your boss. Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of the 300 business leaders surveyed said they had offered raises to employees who expressed concerns about pay disparities.
Queensland offers biggest pay boost
The biggest salary premiums were offered in Queensland (27 per cent), followed by Western Australia (21 per cent), Robert Half found.
New South Wales and Victoria offered more modest premiums at 11 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, for new hires.
Larger businesses tended to offer more for in-demand roles, with the average salary premium being 25 per cent.
Small and medium businesses offered 15 per cent salary premiums on average.
It comes as people continue to switch jobs at the highest rate in a decade.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1.3 million people changed jobs in the year ending February 2022.
That equates to 9.5 per cent of employed people.
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