• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

WAGE PRICE INDEX

SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES, Western Australia
		Sep qtr 2010	Jun qtr 2010 to Sep qtr 2010	Sep qtr 2009 to Sep qtr 2010
Original		index no. (a)	% change	% change
Western Australia		106.0	1.2	3.8
Sector:
	Private	105.6	1.2	3.7
	Public	107.4	1.0	4.3
(a) Base of each index 2008-09 = 100.0. Source: Labour Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6345.0).

• In the September quarter 2010, the Wage Price Index (WPI) for WA increased by 1.2%, which was below the national increase (1.4%). Of the states and territories, the ACT had the highest quarterly increase (1.8%), while Tasmania had the lowest (1.0%).
• Through the year to September quarter 2010, the Public sector index rose by 4.3%, compared with 6.2% through the year to September quarter 2009. The Private sector through the year movement of 3.7% was slightly higher than the previous year to September quarter 2009 (3.4%).
• The narrowing of the gap between the Public and Private sector can be attributed, in part, to the recovery of the economy, and the impact of the introduction of Fair Work Australia. The Public sector has a higher proportion of jobs covered by Certified Agreements which tend to cover longer time frames and were therefore less impacted by the global financial crisis than the relatively informal agreements used widely in the private sector.

Wage Price Index, Annual Change: Original

• Through the year to September quarter 2010, the WPI increased 3.8% for Western Australia and 3.6% nationally.
• From 2006 to 2009, through the year increases in the WPI were higher for Western Australia than for Australia. This gap narrowed from the March quarter 2009, with Western Australia falling just below Australia for the first time in almost six years in the March quarter 2010. Since the June quarter 2010, the through the year increase for Western Australia has returned to being above that for Australia.

	Sep qtr 2010	Jun qtr 2010	Mar qtr 2010	Dec qtr 2009	Sep qtr 2009	Jun qtr 2010 to Sep qtr 2010	Sep qtr 2009 to Sep qtr 2010
Selected Industries	index no.	index no.	index no.	index no.	index no.	% Change	% Change
Mining	105.4	104.7	103.6	102.1	101.4	0.7	3.9
Manufacturing	105.0	103.8	103.1	102.1	101.7	1.2	3.2
Construction	104.9	104.2	103.0	102.4	102.0	0.7	2.8
Retail trade	106.4	104.0	103.7	103.2	102.6	2.3	3.7
Accommodation and food services	105.6	103.8	102.4	101.9	101.3	1.7	4.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	106.0	104.1	103.7	103.5	102.2	1.8	3.7
Professional, scientific and technical Services	107.2	105.2	103.6	103.0	102.8	1.9	4.3
Administrative and support services	106.9	104.1	103.9	102.8	102.4	2.7	4.4
Public administration and safety	107.0	105.9	104.2	104.0	102.9	1.0	4.0
Education and training	108.0	107.5	106.7	104.8	101.8	0.5	6.1
Health care and social assistance	107.4	105.8	105.0	104.4	103.8	1.5	3.5
(a) Base of each index 2008-09 = 100.0. Source: Labour Price Index special data service. For further information, telephone (08) 9360 5151. Charges will apply.

• The industry classification used in the Wage Price Index was updated for the September quarter 2009 to provide a better reflection of the types of industries in today's economy. To find out more about these changes see: 6345.0.55.001 - Information Paper: Update on ANZSIC 2006 Implementation for Labour Price Index, 2009.
• In the September quarter 2010, the highest All sectors quarterly movement was recorded for Administrative and support services (2.7%) and the lowest quarterly movement was Education and training (0.5%).
• Increases through the year ranged from 2.8% for Construction to 6.1% for Education and training.