{"id":2943,"date":"2020-11-18T13:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T02:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=2943"},"modified":"2020-11-24T16:33:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T05:33:10","slug":"a-tale-of-two-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2020\/11\/18\/a-tale-of-two-charts\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two charts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">by Rebecca Barnett<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this week&#8217;s somewhat &#8216;micro&#8217; blog, I want to pose a question based on two ugly but functional charts. Without further ado or excess verbiage, here are the charts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=580%2C820&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2944\" width=\"580\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=724%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 724w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=212%2C300&amp;ssl=1 212w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1086&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=1086%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1086w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=750%2C1061&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?resize=300%2C424&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Chart-1.jpg?w=1240&amp;ssl=1 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption>According to AMT&#8217;s 2017 workforce survey data, the median annual earnings of massage therapists is in the range of $20,000 &#8211; 30,000.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/joboutlook.gov.au\/occupations\/occupation?occupationCode=4116\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/chart-2.jpg?resize=750%2C500&amp;ssl=1 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>According to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/joboutlook.gov.au\/occupations\/occupation?occupationCode=4116\">Australian government data<\/a>, the average weekly earnings for massage therapists are $1038 or $53,976 per annum. This is $22, 776 lower than the national average or 30% lower. <br>Do you earn more or less than $1038 per week?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, I know that comparing median wages against average wages is not entirely fair. Median wages are always lower (and I would add a more accurate reflection of reality) than average wages because the higher-earning outliers drag the average wage up, in some industries significantly. However, notwithstanding the slight odiousness of the comparison and the fact that the AMT figures are now 3 years old, a $25,000 gap between the government gazetted average wage for massage therapists and AMT&#8217;s median is, to put it bluntly, a bloody big gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we surveyed the workforce again last year, only 2% of massage therapists were being paid under the Award and only half of those &#8211; a measly 1% &#8211; were full time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what exactly do we think is going on in that &#8220;bloody big gap&#8221;? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Beck-selfie-copy-e1565088065332.jpg?resize=168%2C168&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-193\" width=\"168\" height=\"168\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Rebecca Barnett was accused of acting more like a Union Secretary than a CEO. Now that she is a fully fledged communist, she promises that this will be the last time in 2020 that she indirectly references Charles Dickens in a blog post title. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this week&#8217;s very small blog post, we pose a question based on two ugly but functional charts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,2],"tags":[696,694,697,695,34,456,293,458],"class_list":["post-2943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-massage","category-professional-practice","tag-average-wage","tag-job-outlook","tag-massage-therapist-earnings","tag-median-wage","tag-rebecca-barnett","tag-wages","tag-workforce-development","tag-workforce-survey"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Dolar-sign-scaled.jpg?fit=1978%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1861,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/07\/17\/how-does-your-income-compare\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":0},"title":"How Does Your Income Compare?","author":"admin","date":"17\/07\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"How much are you earning compared to other massage therapists? Is your employer (or you) contributing to your superannuation? Are you a contractor earning more than the Award for massage therapists? AMT CEO Rebecca Barnett breaks down the data to reveal the truth about how massage therapists work and what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Professional Practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Professional Practice","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/professional-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/chest-4051166_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3540,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2022\/02\/15\/living-with-covid-massage-therapy-industry-survey\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":1},"title":"Living with COVID Massage Therapy Industry Survey","author":"admin","date":"15\/02\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Our latest graphical story is not exactly something we can urge you to enjoy. It paints a fairly confronting picture of the impacts of \"living with COVID\" on the massage therapy industry.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/question-mark.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/question-mark.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/question-mark.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1954,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/award-winning\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":2},"title":"Award Winning","author":"admin","date":"07\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"You're a contractor so the Award wage isn't relevant to you, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. AMT CEO Rebecca Barnett is armed with a calculator and actual facts to show why the Award wage is important to contractors and employees alike.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Professional Practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Professional Practice","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/professional-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/abacus-3116200_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/abacus-3116200_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/abacus-3116200_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/abacus-3116200_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/abacus-3116200_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2394,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2020\/02\/18\/mythbusting-does-massage-therapy-flush-toxins\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":3},"title":"Mythbusting: Does Massage Therapy Flush Toxins?","author":"admin","date":"18\/02\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog, the latest in our mythbusting series, was a long time in the making. It involved hours of careful research synthesis and an unparalleled attention to detail. We recommend you make a cuppa and settle in for an engaging read.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Clinical Practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Clinical Practice","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/clinical-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"May or may not be an image of Rebecca Barnett. Appears to be a child in pig tails with a surprised or mystified facial expression.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Toxin1.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1482,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/03\/20\/whose-approval-do-we-seek\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":4},"title":"Whose Approval Do We Seek?","author":"admin","date":"20\/03\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Do massage therapists have a professional esteem problem? Or do we have a problem with believing the data? Rebecca Barnett asks, what will it take for massage therapists to accept that we're looking pretty fine?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Professional Practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Professional Practice","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/professional-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/San-Dias-Activewear.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/San-Dias-Activewear.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/San-Dias-Activewear.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/San-Dias-Activewear.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/San-Dias-Activewear.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":886,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/06\/26\/10-of-the-best-of-the-amt-blog-so-far\/","url_meta":{"origin":2943,"position":5},"title":"10 of the Best of the AMT Blog &#8230; so far","author":"admin","date":"26\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Since September 2017, we\u2019ve shared nearly 50 stories on this blog. We\u2019ve hand-picked 10 of our favourites that are worth a re-read. Sadly there was not enough room for a re-telling of the History of the Underpant. Perhaps next time.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Top-10.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2943"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2953,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2943\/revisions\/2953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}