Australian Wage Price Index prints at expectations, ticks to 0.6%

Australian wages rose at a seasonally-adjusted rate of 0.6%, though some quarters of Australia noted still-sluggish growth in wages through the year.

Key quotes (via ABS)

The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.6 per cent in June quarter 2018 and 2.1 per cent through the year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Seasonally adjusted, private sector wages rose 2.0 per cent and public sector wages grew 2.4 per cent through the year to June quarter 2018.

ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said "Wage growth in Australia has grown at an annual rate of 2.1 per cent, continuing to stabilise between 2.0 and 2.1 per cent over the past four quarters. Annual growth across industries is varied with diverse wage pressure across the labour market."

In original terms, through the year wage growth to the June quarter 2018 ranged from 1.3 per cent for the Mining industry to 2.7 per cent for the Health care and social assistance industry.

Western Australia and the Northern Territory both recorded the lowest through the year wage growth of 1.5 per cent while Victoria and Tasmania recorded the highest of 2.5 per cent.