"No Applicants Even with a 100 Million Won Annual Salary"…Australian Cleaning Company Struggling with Labor Shortage

Even Beginner Cleaning Assistants Earn Annual Salaries Around 100 Million Won

Australian cleaning companies are raising workers' hourly wages one after another amid worsening labor shortages. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Australian cleaning companies are raising workers' hourly wages one after another amid worsening labor shortages. Even beginner cleaning helpers are reportedly earning over 100 million won, surpassing the annual salary of university graduates.

According to foreign media such as the British daily Daily Mail on the 3rd (local time), Absolute Domestics, a cleaning helper agency in Sydney, Australia, is continuously increasing wages due to difficulty in finding workers.

Director Zoe Beth told the Daily Mail, "We recently raised the hourly wage to 45 Australian dollars (about 40,000 won)," adding, "If working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, the weekly pay amounts to 1,800 Australian dollars (about 1.6 million won)." She explained that this translates to an annual salary of 93,600 Australian dollars (about 83.5 million won), which is higher than the starting salary for university graduates working at regular companies.

In Australia, the annual salary for university graduates varies by industry but averages around 60,000 to 75,000 Australian dollars. The finance and accounting sectors are in the 60,000 Australian dollar range, while energy, engineering consulting, media, and telecommunications sectors are roughly in the 70,000 Australian dollar range. Beth said, "Since mid-last year, there have been no applicants at all, making it impossible to promote the company," adding, "Even after raising the hourly wage by 10 Australian dollars in just 9 months, there are still no workers."

Another cleaning helper agency, Urban Company, also raised the hourly wage from the previous 35 Australian dollars to 55 Australian dollars due to labor shortages. This translates to an annual salary of 124,800 Australian dollars, which exceeds 100 million won when converted to Korean won. Gutterboy, another cleaning company, reportedly pays 104,000 Australian dollars annually for working 5 days a week.

Berusta Benedito, who works as a cleaning helper in Bexley, southern Sydney, said her starting wage doubled and that she currently earns between 40 and 55 Australian dollars per hour.