Australia’s annual wage growth reached 4.1% in the March quarter, demonstrating a persistent rise amid fluctuating economic conditions, according to the latest Wage Price Index (WPI) from ABS.
The WPI rose by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024, culminating in a 4.1% increase over the past year, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Michelle Marquardt (pictured above), ABS head of prices statistics, highlighted the significance of the current wage trends.
“The WPI annual all sectors wage growth has remained at or above 4% since September quarter 2023,” Marquardt said in a media release. “The last time wages growth was at this level for three consecutive quarters was March quarter 2009.”
She also noted the specific impacts on public sector wages, which included scheduled rises from new agreements made last year, contributing to the current figures.
Public-sector annual wage growth reached 3.8%, down from 4.3% in December 2023 but up from 3% last year. This quarter, wages rose by 0.8%, the smallest quarterly increase since December 2022.
Private sector wages grew faster at 0.8%, compared to 0.5% in the public sector, marking the smallest rise since March 2022's 0.7%.
“The public sector wage increase was the smallest since March quarter 2022 when it was also 0.5%,” Marquardt said. “Last year’s March quarter result for the public sector reflected the implementation of new enterprise agreements and changes to wage caps.
“Many jobs covered by these new agreements also saw scheduled rises paid in either the September or December quarters last year instead of in March quarter 2024.”
For more details, read Wage Price Index, Australia.
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