A comparison of average wages between Australia and the United Kingdom.
I am selecting to compare ‘Full time earnings’ rather than the average of Full Time and Part Time, as this should give a more realistic indication for someone that is planning on working full time.
To include part time earning figures would allow too many variables into the equation, ie: 2 hrs per week part time or 30 hours per week part time.
Average Male Full time total earnings:
May 2009
- Australia: $70,038 per year. Source
- UK: £27,552 per year. Based on Apr 2008 + 1.7%
April 2008
Comparing earnings as a multiple of the other country does not really work, if there have been changes in the Foreign Exchange rates, which have occurred in a rather large way at the time of writing this.
One better comparison can be to look at the annual income against costs of various things in that country.
eg:
Average Mortgages:
- In July 2009, the average Australian Mortgage was $354,000, source or 5.05 times the wage above.
- In August 2009, the average UK mortgage was £134,500, source or 4.88 times the wage above.
Note 1: Â Average UK earnings, including bonuses, rose by 1.7 per cent in the year to July 2009. Source
December 2009
A story in the News of The Worldnewspaper gave the following wage figures for the UK:
- £33,285 Junior Doctor
- £27,851 Fireman
- £24,039 Police Constable
- £22,000 Soldier Serving in Afghanistan
- £21,102 Newly Qualified Teacher
- £19,683 Qualified Nurse
- £19,600 Social Worker
- £17,744 Prison Officer
- £10,000 Care Assistant
The story also stated: “Britain’s average salary is £21,320 before tax and national insurance“. This figure includes full and part time workers.
For comparison the Australian figure for Full and Part time workers is $48,776 per year. Â Source ABS August 2009