Average weekly earnings up 5.3% August 15, 2013 - 12:07PM Average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) for adult full-time employees rose 5.3 per cent in the 12 months to May 2013, official figures show. The seasonally-adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed AWOTE for the private and public sectors combined was $1,420.90. Private sector AWOTE was up 5.7 per cent in the year at $1,396.60, while public sector AWOTE rose 4.5 per cent to $1,513.60. The average weekly earnings estimates are released on a half-yearly basis. In the latest six months, AWOTE for all sectors rose 1.8 per cent, just over half the pace of the previous half-year's 3.5 per cent gain. In the private sector, AWOTE rose by 1.9 per cent over the six months to May, compared with 3.6 per cent in the six months to November. In the public sector, AWOTE rose 1.5 per cent in the latest six months, slowing from the 2.9 per cent increase in the prior six months.