SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES

			Jun Qtr 2018 to Sep Qtr 2018	Sep Qtr 2017 to Sep Qtr 2018
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Trend(a)
	Australia		0.5	2.2
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.1
		Public	0.6	2.5
Seasonally Adjusted(b)
	Australia		0.6	2.3
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.1
		Public	0.6	2.5
Original
	Australia		1.0	2.3
	Sector
		Private	1.0	2.2
		Public	0.9	2.5
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 39-40, 42. (b) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 32-38, 42. 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

SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (JUN QTR 2018 TO SEP QTR 2018)

• The trend index rose 0.5% and seasonally adjusted index rose 0.6% for Australia in the September quarter 2018. This continued the moderate rate of wage growth recorded by the series over the last four years.
• The Private and Public sector rose 0.5% and 0.6% respectively, seasonally adjusted.
• The highest index rise at an industry level (in original terms) was recorded in Accommodation and food services (1.9%) and the lowest in Finance and insurance services (0.4%).

ANNUAL CHANGE (SEP QTR 2017 TO SEP QTR 2018)

• The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia rose 2.2% and 2.3% respectively through the year to the September quarter 2018.
• In original terms, rises through the year to September quarter 2018 at the industry level ranged from 1.8% for Mining and Retail trade to 2.8% for Health care and social assistance.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
December 2018	20 February 2019
March 2019	15 May 2019
June 2019	14 August 2019
September 2019	13 November 2019

UPDATE ON THE SIZE AND FREQUENCY OF WAGE CHANGES

This issue contains a feature article titled "Update on the Size and Frequency of Wage Changes" which is based on the research undertaken by James Bishop, Senior Research Economist, Reserve Bank of Australia on secondment to the ABS. The article provides an update of earlier research on the size and frequency of wage changes. The article is available on the ABS website 6345.0 - Wage Price Index, Australia, Sep 2018 Feature Article: Update on the Size and Frequency of Wage Changes.


FUTURE CHANGES

The expenditure weights used to compile the WPI will be updated in the December quarter 2018 using the expenditure on wages and salaries from the 2018 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours.


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>.


INQUIRIES

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