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Pay survey reveals industry in recovery

  • March 23, 2021

Pay increases across the property industry are on the horizon, according to the latest Avdiev Property Industry Remuneration Report.

 

  Three key takeaways

  • 96% of respondents to the March Avdiev Property Industry Remuneration Report said their businesses were doing ‘moderately or very well’
  • 51% said they had taken on new staff in the last six months
  • 71% of businesses are planning for pay increases in 2021, up from 55% in 2020.

 

Avdiev Report principal Debra Moloney says the results suggest the property industry is emerging from the COVID-19 crisis with “cautious optimism”.

“It appears that the worst is behind us. Government stimulus packages, which have helped consumer spending, are also helping buoy the property and construction sectors.”

240321 - Story 3 - Debra MoloneyOne third of businesses (31%) surveyed said they were doing better than at the same time last year.

While 51% of respondents had hired new staff over the last six months due to new business, 21% said their company headcount was lower than 12 months previous.

Pay freezes were imposed across the industry in 2020 in response to uncertainty, but pay reviews are now resuming, and many can expect to receive a “modest” pay rise this year, Moloney adds.

The 35th edition of the Avdiev Property Industry Remuneration Report is the product of a formal, Australia-wide survey of property, investment, construction employers and design and construction-related consulting companies.

Property businesses went to great lengths to retain staff, Moloney says, “and teams leaned on each other for support”. One respondent to the survey said “COVID-19 brought the team closer together,” while another said “cost management strategies early on in COVID-19 ensured we were able to keep the majority of employees”.

Nearly half of businesses (43.4%) imposed a pay freeze in their latest round of remuneration reviews. An industry-wide increase of 2.0 per cent was above the 1.4 per cent average for the general workforce, but below the 2.5 per cent delivered in 2019.

Businesses are optimistically looking forward to their next remuneration review, with 71 per cent planning on increasing remuneration during 2021. Employers are predicting salary increases of between 1.5 and 2.3 per cent, depending on the sector and job role.

Moloney says the property industry, “with its ability to adapt” has “proven it is able to withstand even the most challenging conditions”.

“The outlook for remuneration is positive and indicates that recovery is well underway. Watch this space.”