DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

			Sep Qtr 2018 to Dec Qtr 2018	Dec Qtr 2017 to Dec Qtr 2018
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Trend(a)
	Australia		(b)0.5	2.3
	Sector
		Private	0.6	2.3
		Public	0.6	2.5
Seasonally Adjusted(c)
	Australia		(b)0.5	2.3
	Sector
		Private	0.6	2.3
		Public	0.6	2.5
Original
	Australia		0.5	2.3
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.3
		Public	0.7	2.5
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 39-40, 42. (c) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 32-38, 42.
(b) See Explanatory Notes paragraph 27.
Source(s): Quarterly changes, Trend, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses-Web Page Graph 1 Source(s): Annual change, Original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - States and Territories-Web Page Graph 2 - Annual change Original

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (SEP QTR 2018 TO DEC QTR 2018)

• The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia rose 0.5% in the December quarter 2018.
• In seasonally adjusted terms, both the Private and Public sector wage price indexes rose 0.6%.
• The highest index rise at an industry level (in original terms) was recorded in Financial and insurance services (0.9%) and the lowest in Accommodation and food services (0.1%).

ANNUAL CHANGE (DEC QTR 2017 TO DEC QTR 2018)

• The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia both rose 2.3% through the year to the December quarter 2018.
• In original terms, rises through the year to December quarter 2018 at the industry level ranged from 1.6% for Information media and telecommunication services to 2.8% for Electricity, gas, water and waste services and Health care and social assistance.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
March 2019	15 May 2019
June 2019	14 August 2019
September 2019	13 November 2019
December 2019	19 February 2020

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The weights used to compile the WPI have been updated in the December quarter 2018 using expenditure on wages and salaries from the 2018 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. Weights are updated every two years to reflect structural changes in the Australian economy. The 2018 weights are available in the Appendix in this publication and on the ABS website. Further information can be found in paragraphs 20-25 of the Explanatory Notes.


DATA REFERENCES

Data referenced in the Key Points and Commentary are available from the tables shown in this publication or in the corresponding tables of this publication on the ABS website <https://www.abs.gov.au>.


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