11 Highest Paying Blue Collar Jobs in Australia

11. Earthmoving plant operators

Average weekly salary: $1,250
Employment growth: -8.6
Skill level: 4

We start this ranking with workers employed on constructions sites who operate machines to break up pavement, move and excavate earth, and smooth other surfaces. Although whole construction industry is expected to add a significant number of new jobs, employment for this occupation will decrease by 8.6 percent, or in other words, by 2019, there will be 3,700 less earthmoving plant operators. In recent years, job growth declined at the rate of 20.7, as major building projects entered finishing stages and there was no further need for site preparation services. The total number of workers in the occupation is 43,200, while New South Wales and Queensland employ the greatest share of the workforce.