Annual wage growth of 3.2% in June quarter 2026

Media Release

Released

19/08/2026

Source

Wage Price Index, Australia, June 2026

Release date and time

19/08/2026 11:30am AEST

The Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.8 per cent in the June quarter 2026 and 3.2 per cent annually (seasonally adjusted), according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Rachael McCririck, ABS head of prices statistics, said: ”Annual wage growth of 3.2 per cent is slightly down from 3.4 per cent at the same time last year.”

“Although we’re currently below the late 2023 peak of 4.3 per cent, annual wage growth remains above the 2.2 per cent that we were seeing in the December quarter 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.“

All sector WPI, quarterly and annual movement (%), seasonally adjusted (a)
	Quarterly (%)	Annual (%)
Jun-11	0.7	3.8
Sep-11	0.8	3.6
Dec-11	1.0	3.6
Mar-12	1.0	3.6
Jun-12	0.9	3.8
Sep-12	0.7	3.7
Dec-12	0.8	3.4
Mar-13	0.7	3.1
Jun-13	0.7	2.9
Sep-13	0.5	2.7
Dec-13	0.7	2.6
Mar-14	0.8	2.7
Jun-14	0.5	2.5
Sep-14	0.6	2.6
Dec-14	0.6	2.5
Mar-15	0.6	2.3
Jun-15	0.5	2.3
Sep-15	0.6	2.3
Dec-15	0.5	2.2
Mar-16	0.5	2.1
Jun-16	0.5	2.1
Sep-16	0.4	1.9
Dec-16	0.5	1.9
Mar-17	0.6	1.9
Jun-17	0.5	1.9
Sep-17	0.5	2.0
Dec-17	0.6	2.1
Mar-18	0.5	2.0
Jun-18	0.6	2.1
Sep-18	0.6	2.3
Dec-18	0.5	2.3
Mar-19	0.5	2.3
Jun-19	0.6	2.3
Sep-19	0.5	2.2
Dec-19	0.5	2.2
Mar-20	0.5	2.2
Jun-20	0.2	1.8
Sep-20	0.1	1.4
Dec-20	0.5	1.3
Mar-21	0.7	1.5
Jun-21	0.5	1.8
Sep-21	0.5	2.2
Dec-21	0.7	2.4
Mar-22	0.7	2.4
Jun-22	0.8	2.6
Sep-22	1.0	3.1
Dec-22	0.8	3.3
Mar-23	1.0	3.7
Jun-23	0.8	3.7
Sep-23	1.3	4.0
Dec-23	1.1	4.3
Mar-24	0.7	4.0
Jun-24	0.9	4.1
Sep-24	0.9	3.6
Dec-24	0.7	3.2
Mar-25	1.0	3.5
Jun-25	0.8	3.4
Sep-25	0.8	3.3
Dec-25	0.8	3.4
Mar-26	0.8	3.2
Jun-26	0.8	3.2

All sector WPI, quarterly and annual movement (%), seasonally adjusted (a)

["","Quarterly (%)","Annual (%)"]

[["Jun-11","Sep-11","Dec-11","Mar-12","Jun-12","Sep-12","Dec-12","Mar-13","Jun-13","Sep-13","Dec-13","Mar-14","Jun-14","Sep-14","Dec-14","Mar-15","Jun-15","Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25","Mar-26","Jun-26"],[[0.7],[0.8],[1],[1],[0.9],[0.7],[0.8],[0.7],[0.7],[0.5],[0.7],[0.8],[0.5],[0.6],[0.6],[0.6],[0.5],[0.6],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.4],[0.5],[0.6],[0.5],[0.5],[0.6],[0.5],[0.6],[0.6],[0.5],[0.5],[0.6],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.2],[0.1],[0.5],[0.7],[0.5],[0.5],[0.7],[0.7],[0.8],[1],[0.8],[1],[0.8],[1.3],[1.1],[0.7],[0.9],[0.9],[0.7],[1],[0.8],[0.8],[0.8],[0.8],[0.8]],[[3.8],[3.6],[3.6],[3.6],[3.8],[3.7],[3.4],[3.1],[2.9],[2.7],[2.6],[2.7],[2.5],[2.6],[2.5],[2.3],[2.3],[2.3],[2.2],[2.1],[2.1],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[2],[2.1],[2],[2.1],[2.3],[2.3],[2.3],[2.3],[2.2],[2.2],[2.2],[1.8],[1.4],[1.3],[1.5],[1.8],[2.2],[2.4],[2.4],[2.6],[3.1],[3.3],[3.7],[3.7],[4],[4.3],[4],[4.1],[3.6],[3.2],[3.5],[3.4],[3.3],[3.4],[3.2],[3.2]]]

[]

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See Interpretation of index numbers, Percentage change and rounding on the Methodology page.

Annual wage growth in the public sector outpaced growth in the private sector for the sixth quarter in a row.

“Rises paid to state government public service jobs were the main driver of public sector growth, supported by scheduled rises paid under the existing APS-wide enterprise agreement for Commonwealth employees,” said Ms McCririck.

Public sector wages rose 3.4 per cent, down from 3.7 per cent a year earlier.

Private sector wages rose 3.1 per cent in annual terms, easing from 3.4 per cent the same time last year.

Annual wage growth by sector, seasonally adjusted (a)
	Private (%)	Public (%)
Jun-11	3.9	3.7
Sep-11	3.8	3.3
Dec-11	3.8	3.2
Mar-12	3.7	3.1
Jun-12	3.8	3.3
Sep-12	3.7	3.4
Dec-12	3.4	3.3
Mar-13	3.2	3.1
Jun-13	3.0	2.8
Sep-13	2.7	2.6
Dec-13	2.5	2.7
Mar-14	2.6	2.9
Jun-14	2.4	2.8
Sep-14	2.5	2.7
Dec-14	2.5	2.7
Mar-15	2.2	2.5
Jun-15	2.2	2.5
Sep-15	2.1	2.7
Dec-15	2.0	2.6
Mar-16	2.0	2.5
Jun-16	2.0	2.4
Sep-16	1.9	2.3
Dec-16	1.8	2.3
Mar-17	1.8	2.3
Jun-17	1.8	2.5
Sep-17	1.9	2.4
Dec-17	1.9	2.4
Mar-18	1.9	2.4
Jun-18	2.1	2.3
Sep-18	2.1	2.6
Dec-18	2.3	2.5
Mar-19	2.4	2.4
Jun-19	2.3	2.7
Sep-19	2.2	2.4
Dec-19	2.2	2.2
Mar-20	2.1	2.3
Jun-20	1.8	2.1
Sep-20	1.2	1.8
Dec-20	1.3	1.6
Mar-21	1.5	1.5
Jun-21	1.9	1.3
Sep-21	2.3	1.7
Dec-21	2.4	2.1
Mar-22	2.4	2.2
Jun-22	2.7	2.4
Sep-22	3.4	2.4
Dec-22	3.6	2.5
Mar-23	3.8	3.0
Jun-23	3.9	3.1
Sep-23	4.3	3.5
Dec-23	4.2	4.3
Mar-24	4.2	3.8
Jun-24	4.1	3.9
Sep-24	3.5	3.7
Dec-24	3.3	2.8
Mar-25	3.3	3.6
Jun-25	3.4	3.7
Sep-25	3.3	3.9
Dec-25	3.4	4.0
Mar-26	3.2	3.4
Jun-26	3.1	3.4

Annual wage growth by sector, seasonally adjusted (a)

["","Private (%)","Public (%)"]

[["Jun-11","Sep-11","Dec-11","Mar-12","Jun-12","Sep-12","Dec-12","Mar-13","Jun-13","Sep-13","Dec-13","Mar-14","Jun-14","Sep-14","Dec-14","Mar-15","Jun-15","Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24","Jun-24","Sep-24","Dec-24","Mar-25","Jun-25","Sep-25","Dec-25","Mar-26","Jun-26"],[[3.9],[3.8],[3.8],[3.7],[3.8],[3.7],[3.4],[3.2],[3],[2.7],[2.5],[2.6],[2.4],[2.5],[2.5],[2.2],[2.2],[2.1],[2],[2],[2],[1.9],[1.8],[1.8],[1.8],[1.9],[1.9],[1.9],[2.1],[2.1],[2.3],[2.4],[2.3],[2.2],[2.2],[2.1],[1.8],[1.2],[1.3],[1.5],[1.9],[2.3],[2.4],[2.4],[2.7],[3.4],[3.6],[3.8],[3.9],[4.3],[4.2],[4.2],[4.1],[3.5],[3.3],[3.3],[3.4],[3.3],[3.4],[3.2],[3.1]],[[3.7],[3.3],[3.2],[3.1],[3.3],[3.4],[3.3],[3.1],[2.8],[2.6],[2.7],[2.9],[2.8],[2.7],[2.7],[2.5],[2.5],[2.7],[2.6],[2.5],[2.4],[2.3],[2.3],[2.3],[2.5],[2.4],[2.4],[2.4],[2.3],[2.6],[2.5],[2.4],[2.7],[2.4],[2.2],[2.3],[2.1],[1.8],[1.6],[1.5],[1.3],[1.7],[2.1],[2.2],[2.4],[2.4],[2.5],[3],[3.1],[3.5],[4.3],[3.8],[3.9],[3.7],[2.8],[3.6],[3.7],[3.9],[4],[3.4],[3.4]]]

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See Interpretation of index numbers, Percentage change and rounding on the Methodology page.

Jobs with a wage change of less than 4 per cent over the last 12 months rose to 79 per cent, from 75 per cent in June quarter 2025. This is the largest share recorded since June quarter 2022 (+84%).

“The decline in the share of jobs with larger wage rises has contributed to slower wage growth overall,” said Ms McCririck.

See our other insights and supporting graphs in our Wage Price Index, Australia, June quarter 2026 publication.

Media notes

Please attribute the 'Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)' when using our data.
All figures in this release are seasonally adjusted, unless otherwise specified.
June quarter 2026 Wage Price Index data captures wages for the last pay period ending on or before the third Friday of the middle month (May) of the quarter.
The WPI is designed to measure the change over time in the price of wages and salaries (i.e. a pure price change, unaffected by the changes in the quality or quantity of work performed or the composition of the workforce).
To learn more about different measures of wages change, their purpose and how to use them, see our Earnings guide. It provides summary information on our various earnings measures including the Wage Price Index.
For any media requests, email media@abs.gov.au or call 1300 175 070 (9am–5pm Canberra time) with your questions and deadline.
Explore our Data Crash Course for guidance on finding and interpreting ABS data, and subscribe to our release notifications to stay updated.
Information on how the ABS will release market sensitive releases during a website or API outage.

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Annual wage growth of 3.2% in June quarter 2026

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