Design and architecture one of Australia’s fastest growing high-paid industries: Report

The highest paid industry in Australia might still be mining, but the design and architecture industry is certainly moving up the ranks, according to a report by employment website SEEK.

Seek’s annual Learning Figures report was released yesterday and highlights the top 10 industries in Australia with the highest paid industries between July 2014 to July 2015.

Design and architecture is Australia’s fastest growing high-paid industry this year, with the industry’s average advertised wage jumping by 5%.

Design and architecture professionals earnt an average of about $4000 more than last year.

Other industries where salaries grew are education and training, banking and financial services, real estate and property as well as sports and recreation.

However, the report also found the average wage in Australia had remained flat, with the national average advertised salary still hovering at about the $80,000 mark.

The Australian Capital Territory boasts the highest average annual advertised salary of all states for the year, at $82,636, while wages in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland remained relatively unchanged.

Seek Learning general manager Tony Barrett told SmartCompany this morning while this year’s top 10 highest paid industries is fairly consistent to previous years, there has been some drops and movements within the rankings, with the top four industries recording higher growth last year than this.

“Three of the top four industries have gone back a bit,” he says.

“Mining, construction and engineering have dropped slightly, while consulting and strategies have remained flat.”

Barrett says within the top growth industry, design and architecture, wages are growing at varied rates.

“Urban design and planning, illustration and animation increased 7% to 8% on last year while landscape architecture has gone back a bit,” he says.

The top 10 highest paid industries in 2015 are:

1. Mining
2. Consulting and strategy
3. Construction
4. Engineering
5. IT
6. Legal
7. Banking and financial services
8. Healthcare and medical
9. Government and defence
10. Marketing and communications