6345.0 - Wage Price Index, Australia, Dec 2017 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/02/2018   
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MEDIA RELEASE
21 February 2018
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
Wages rise 0.6% seasonally adjusted


The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.6 per cent in December quarter 2017 according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The WPI rose 2.1 per cent through the year seasonally adjusted to December quarter 2017.

ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said "The annual rate of wage growth has increased for the second consecutive quarter reflecting falling unemployment and underemployment rates, and increasing job vacancy levels."

Seasonally adjusted, private sector wages rose 1.9 per cent and public sector wages grew 2.4 per cent through the year to December quarter 2017.

In original terms, through the year wage growth to the December quarter 2017 ranged from 1.4 per cent for the Mining industry to 2.8 per cent for the Health care and social assistance industry.

Victoria was the highest through the year wage growth of 2.4 per cent and The Northern Territory recorded the lowest of 1.1 per cent.

Further information is available in Wage Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6345.0), available for free download from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au/.

Media notes:

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