Women working as nurses and male oceanographers had the biggest salary drops for Australians, according to new data.
The data, examined by finder.com.au, revealed the professions for men and women that took the biggest cuts between 2015 and 2016.
The top two jobs for men that took the biggest hits were geophysicist or oceanographer, which saw a 10 per cent drop from $171,247 and a petroleum engineer, which was down six per cent.
The data, examined by finder.com.au , found the professions for men and women that took the biggest cuts between 2015 and 2016 (stock image)
For women the top jobs which took a massive pay cut were nurses, which was down 8.1 per cent to $61,504, and plant operators, which was down 6.1 per cent.
Overall public servants came in third with a 3.1 per cent salary decrease.
However, despite the massive pay cut, petroleum engineers are still in the top 10 paying jobs with an average salary of $191,101.
Pay cuts in FIFO industries such as mining engineers, which was down 3.7 per cent, were due to a reduction from full-time to part-time and casual, according to experts.
Insurance expert at finder.com.au Bessie Hassan said: ‘Professions that rely on shift work are quite volatile in terms of salary due to trends in shorter shifts or lower wages per hour. This could be why we’re seeing nurses and security workers on the list.’
However Ms Hassan said with the increased need for resources it is likely the salaries will go up again.
Pay cuts in FIFO industries such as mining engineers, which was down 3.7 per cent, were due to casualisation of the work force, according to experts. However Ms Hassan said with the increased need for resources it is likely the salaries will go up again (stock image)
Ryan, from the Gold Coast, has worked in mines across Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland and he believes the pay drop is related to workers losing rights.
He told news.com.au: ‘It’s all about the bottom line – big companies making their cash, hitting their quotas. As long as they hit their deadlines and get the job done, the welfare of workers takes a back seat.
‘The government is getting rid of penalty rates and if you’re full-time there, that’s where you make most of your money.’
FIFO workers are now being offered a flat rate of $55 when they used to get $40 for a regular hour and $60 per hour once it passed the eight-hour mark.