Engineering managers have been named as the second highest paid roles in the nation in a new listing – up from 7th place five years ago.
Managers, project managers and engineers in the mining, resources and energy, and construction industries are also among the nation’s best paid professionals, according a report released by Seek Recruitment.
The annual salary for engineering managers was quoted as $133,927, which is not far behind 2018’s highest paid role: information and communication technology (ICT) architects, who reportedly bring home an annual paycheck of $138,144 on average.
In the mining, resources and energy sector, managers came in at number four ($131,462) and engineering and maintenance personnel at 13 ($121,912). According to Seek analysis, this is a significant come-down from the 2013 list. Five years ago, the mining industry dominated Australia’s highest salaries – taking out every place in the top six as well and 13 spots in the top 20.
Ivan Colhoun, Chief Economist for Markets at National Australia Bank (NAB), told Seek the reasons for this fall revolve around the risks associated with mining.
“Mining is a risky occupation, jobs are typically in remote areas and it is still quite highly unionised,” Colhoun said.
Construction also had a good showing, with managers and project managers in 8th and 9th place ($126,122 and $124,603), up from 18th and 19th place in 2013.
Mining jobs and wages on the rise
Although average mining industry wages are down around $20,000 per annum from 2013 levels, wages in mining are set to rise again in the future, Colhoun said.
“Commodity prices have recovered, so the demand for drilling and exploration has picked up, and NAB’s monthly business survey shows mining is reporting the best conditions of any industry currently,” Colhoun said.
However, Colhoun doesn’t believe mining sector wages will reach the dizzying highs of five to six years ago, which he called a “one in a 100 year cycle”.
Seek data also showed strong growth in the number of mining, resources and energy job ads in June, with a 32 per cent increase compared to the same time last year. This was the highest growth observed in any industry and went against the overall trend of smaller growth across the board for the number of positions advertised.
Western Australian salaries also increased by 9 per cent over 2017 levels across the board, which could be due to their large share of the mining industry pie, according to Seek.