A comparison of wages in both the UK and Australia is a useful guide for many people considering moving and working in either country.
Ideally the wage figure you need to look at is the exact wage for your specific occupation. That cannot be done here, but we can give a comparison of each countries average or median wages, provided by official government departments for each country.
For the UK we provide Median wage data from the Office for National Statistics
For Australia we provide Average wage data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
The latest data issued by each country, at the end of 2012 was:
UK (Source: 2012 Annual Survey of Hours and Earning)
In April 2012 median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were:
Male: £546 (21.6% higher than the female median)
Female: £449
All: £506 (£498 in 2011) This ranged from £453 in Wales to £653 in London.
Full-time median gross weekly earnings rose by 1.5% for males and 1.9% for females in the twelve months to April 2012.
Australia (Source: 6302.0 – Average Weekly Earnings, Australia)
In May 2012 Average gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were:
Male: $1,536.10 (27.0% higher than the female average)
Female: $1,209.30
All: $1,416.30 ($1,410.60 in NSW, $1,636.40 in WA, $1,235.60 Tasmania)
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings rose by 3.4% for males and 3.6% for females in the twelve months to May 2012.
In previous years I have compared the Australian Median wages to Average wages and found that the median has been about 87%-90% of the average. Using this figure, my estimate of Australian Median wages would be:
Male: $1,359 – converted to £ at the FX rate at Jan 9, 2013 = £887
Female: $1,070 – converted to £ at the FX rate at Jan 9, 2013 = £698
All: $1,253 – converted to £ at the FX rate at Jan 9, 2013 = £818
This, if fully accurate, indicates that wages in Australia, taking account of the current FX rate, may be between 55% and 62% higher than the UK, for full time workers, ON AVERAGE.
Notes:
UK:
Full-time is defined as employees working more than 30 paid hours per week (or 25 or more for the teaching professions)
The self-employed are NOT included in these results.
Australia:
Full-time is defined as workers as persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week in all jobs.
Proprietors/partners of unincorporated businesses and self-employed persons are NOT included in these results.