Advertised wages are rising as employers scramble to fill major worker shortages, according to new figures from job advertising website Seek.

It shows wages offers are growing at 4.1%, which is faster than Wage Price Index which is growing at 2.6%.

The sectors recording the biggest pay boost are design & architecture, IT and trades workers.

Pay rates on offer for jobs on the platform rose 0.4% in July, a similar rate to the previous two months, putting annualised wages growth at a rate just below 5%.

Seek senior economist Matt Cowgill says it’s not surprising that advertised pay rates are growing faster than those of people staying in the same job.

“I’d expect to see advertised salaries respond more and quicker to changes in economic conditions and broader changes in the labour market,” he says.

“As the labour market recovered and as things started to boom through 2021, salary growth picked up much further than overall wages and salaries as measured by the ABS.”