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Research report · checked 24 September 2026
The evidence supports a precise story: recruiter salary benchmarks rose, EA employment is concentrated in particular sectors and locations, and workforce growth does not automatically mean faster recruitment.
2025–26 change in the published midpoint
EA concentration in finance and insurance
EA employment share in NSW and Victoria
These measures come from different datasets and observation periods. They must not be combined into a single growth claim.
Salary benchmarks
These are changes between Robert Half’s published recruitment benchmarks, not proof that incumbent EAs received equivalent pay rises.
| Benchmark | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $89,000 | $100,000 | +12.4% |
| 50th percentile | $100,000 | $115,000 | +15.0% |
| 75th percentile | $117,000 | $125,000 | +6.8% |
Industry concentration
The concentration index divides the industry’s share of EA employment by its share of all employment. The underlying JSA estimates are experimental 2021 Census OSCA data—not current vacancies.
| Industry | EA share | All jobs | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial & insurance services | 9.6% | 3.7% | 2.59× |
| Public administration & safety | 14.7% | 6.6% | 2.23× |
| Professional, scientific & technical | 16.3% | 7.8% | 2.09× |
| Education & training | 10.4% | 8.8% | 1.18× |
| Health care & social assistance | 13.0% | 14.5% | 0.90× |
| Construction | 4.6% | 8.9% | 0.52× |
| Retail | 2.6% | 9.1% | 0.29× |
Geographic structure
NSW and Victoria hold 60.7% of estimated EA employment. The ACT’s 2.10× concentration shows why Canberra deserves disproportionate coverage even though its absolute workforce is smaller.
| Location | EA share | Index |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | 4.4% | 2.10× |
| NSW | 34.4% | 1.12× |
| Victoria | 26.3% | 1.00× |
| Northern Territory | 0.8% | 0.89× |
| South Australia | 6.2% | 0.89× |
| Western Australia | 9.3% | 0.86× |
| Queensland | 16.9% | 0.83× |
| Tasmania | 1.7% | 0.81× |
APS headcount rose from 153,571 in 2021 to 198,529 in 2025—a calculated 29.3% increase. Yet ongoing engagements fell 15.4% in the latest year. These are APS-wide indicators, not an EA hiring series.
64.6% of APS employees were outside the ACT at June 2025, supporting national federal-employer coverage.
Historical occupation-mobility data recorded 7,175 people entering Personal Assistant work in 2018–19 even while the occupation stock fell. Net employment change alone misses replacement and movement demand.
The broader legacy PA profile currently reports 50,900 employed and annual change of −200. It should not be spliced onto the newer OSCA EA series.
2035 monitoring priorities
Health
Professional
Finance
Public administration
Education
JSA whole-industry employment projections, May 2025 to May 2035. They do not forecast EA demand and do not incorporate generative-AI labour-market effects.
Evidence and next dataset
Advertisements must be deduplicated across employer portals, SEEK and recruiters. Disappearance measures time observed online; it does not prove a placement.