This is evident in Graph 3, which shows that the decline in employment has been largest for occupations with the lowest hourly earnings, while employment has actually increased for occupations with the highest hourly earnings. The difference in experience is striking.
Graph 3  Employment by Occupation Earnings* Change since February 2020 Highest  Second  Third  Fourth  Lowest -600  -400  -200 To May  0  ’000  To August  *  The change in employment for each occupation has been ordered by the hourly earnings for those occupations in May 2018; the data have then been broken into five equal groups of occupations from highest to lowest earnings and added up within each group Sources: ABS; RBA  The uneven effect of the pandemic is also evident in small businesses being harder hit, on average, than large businesses.