Media release
Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile
Tuesday, August 22, 2000
Exporters pay staff $17,400 more
Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, today launched a landmark study by Austrade and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing that exporting businesses paid their staff on average $17,400 a year more than non-exporting businesses.
Launching A Portrait of Australian Exporters Mr Vaile said the report would add to Australia's understanding and appreciation of its export community.
Mr Vaile said key findings were that exporting businesses were more likely to employ staff on a permanent basis, and they paid their staff much better – on average $46,000/yr compared with $28,600 in non-exporting businesses. Exporting businesses were more committed to staff training with 77% offering training compared with 56% for non-exporters, and they were more innovative with 50% intending to market new goods/services compared with 15% of non-exporters.
Mr Vaile said exporting businesses were embracing new technology with nearly 70% using the Internet for marketing compared with 28% for non-exporters. He said the report also demonstrated that exporters were not just big companies but included many small businesses that were taking the initiative to enter the global arena.
The number of exporting businesses rose from 17,300 (1994-95) to 21,800 (1997-98) - av growth of 8% per year. Growth was strongest in the small business sector, particularly in micro businesses (1-4 employees) where av growth was 11%.
"A Portrait of Australian Exporters shows how the 'born globals' have emerged and how our younger Internet savvy exporters are succeeding in the new economy. Exporting not only helps Australia, it also helps the bottom line of the exporters themselves. Congratulations to Austrade and to the ABS for this excellent initiative."
Acting Australian Statistician, Brian Pink, said the new publication would provide important new insights into the characteristics of Australia's exporters to help the Government set export policy in the future.
"The survey tells us about which businesses are exporting and what are their characteristics. For example in 1997-98, while only 4% of Australia's businesses were exporting, but numbers are increasing and the growth is being led by small businesses. The report also tells us that exporters tend to be the more sophisticated businesses, for example they generally use more advanced business practices, such as in the area of human resource management.
Local Date: Sunday, 12-Feb-2012 11:35:43 EST