Wages rise 0.8% for the quarter and 3.4% over the year

Media Release

Released

18/02/2026

Source

Wage Price Index, Australia, December 2025

Release date and time

18/02/2026 11:30am AEDT

The Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.8 per cent in the December quarter 2025 and 3.4 per cent annually, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said: ‘Quarterly wage growth of 0.8 per cent was in line with the September quarter 2025. Annual growth in wages was 3.4 per cent up from 3.3 per cent in September quarter 2025.‘

All sector WPI, quarterly and annual movement (%), seasonally adjusted (a)
	Quarterly (%)	Annual (%)
Dec-10	1.0	3.9
Mar-11	0.9	3.9
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	0.8	3.8
Dec-12	0.7	3.4
Mar-13	0.7	3.1
Jun-13	0.6	2.8
Sep-13	0.6	2.6
Dec-13	0.7	2.6
Mar-14	0.8	2.7
Jun-14	0.5	2.6
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	0.9	3.4
Jun-25	0.9	3.4
Sep-25	0.8	3.3
Dec-25	0.8	3.4

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

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

[["Dec-10","Mar-11","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"],[[1],[0.9],[0.7],[0.8],[1],[1],[0.9],[0.8],[0.7],[0.7],[0.6],[0.6],[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],[0.9],[0.9],[0.8],[0.8]],[[3.9],[3.9],[3.8],[3.6],[3.6],[3.6],[3.8],[3.8],[3.4],[3.1],[2.8],[2.6],[2.6],[2.7],[2.6],[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],[3.4],[3.4],[3.3],[3.4]]]

[]

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

Across both the private and public sector, wages rose 0.8 per cent.

On an annual basis, public sector wages grew at a faster pace than the private sector for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Annual public sector wage growth was 4.0 per cent in the year to December 2025, higher than the 2.8 per cent at the same time last year.

Private sector wages rose 3.4 per cent over the same period. This was higher than the 3.3 per cent growth recorded in the year to December 2024.

‘Strong growth in public sector wages for 2025 was due to new state public sector agreements that delivered multiple pay rises over the course of the year,‘ said Ms Marquardt.

‘Multiple pay rises occurred when agreements included backdated increases that took effect soon after the agreement was finalised, and a further scheduled rise was received later in the year.’

Annual wage growth by sector, seasonally adjusted (a)
	Private (%)	Public (%)
Dec-10	3.8	4.0
Mar-11	4.0	3.6
Jun-11	3.8	3.7
Sep-11	3.7	3.3
Dec-11	3.8	3.2
Mar-12	3.7	3.1
Jun-12	3.9	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	2.8	2.6
Dec-13	2.5	2.7
Mar-14	2.6	2.9
Jun-14	2.4	2.8
Sep-14	2.4	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	4.0
Sep-24	3.5	3.6
Dec-24	3.3	2.8
Mar-25	3.3	3.6
Jun-25	3.4	3.6
Sep-25	3.3	3.9
Dec-25	3.4	4.0

Annual wage growth by sector, seasonally adjusted (a)

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

[["Dec-10","Mar-11","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"],[[3.8],[4],[3.8],[3.7],[3.8],[3.7],[3.9],[3.7],[3.4],[3.2],[3],[2.8],[2.5],[2.6],[2.4],[2.4],[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]],[[4],[3.6],[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],[4],[3.6],[2.8],[3.6],[3.6],[3.9],[4]]]

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

The Healthcare and social assistance industry was the main contributor to wages growth for the private and public sector this quarter.

Two major Commonwealth funded initiatives in aged care and early childhood care and education saw rises paid in the private sector for this industry. Growth in the public sector was largely related to scheduled enterprise agreement rises paid to frontline health care workers across New South Wales.

Quarterly contribution - industries
	Quarterly contribution
Health care and social assistance	0.18
Education and training	0.07
Construction	0.06
Professional, scientific and technical services	0.05
Financial and insurance services	0.05
Manufacturing	0.05
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.04
Wholesale trade	0.04
Public administration and safety	0.03
Retail trade	0.03
Mining	0.03
Information media and telecommunications	0.02
Other services	0.02
Administrative and support services	0.02
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.01
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.01
Accommodation and food services	0.01
Arts and recreation services	0.01

Quarterly contribution - industries

["","Quarterly contribution"]

[["Health care and social assistance","Education and training","Construction","Professional, scientific and technical services","Financial and insurance services","Manufacturing","Transport, postal and warehousing","Wholesale trade","Public administration and safety","Retail trade","Mining","Information media and telecommunications","Other services","Administrative and support services","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Accommodation and food services","Arts and recreation services"],[[0.18],[0.07],[0.06],[0.05],[0.05],[0.05],[0.04],[0.04],[0.03],[0.03],[0.03],[0.02],[0.02],[0.02],[0.01],[0.01],[0.01],[0.01]]]

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See our other insights and supporting graphs in our Wage Price Index, Australia, December quarter 2025 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.
December quarter 2025 Wage Price Index data captures wages for the last pay period ending on or before the third Friday of the middle month (November) 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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Wages rise 0.8% for the quarter and 3.4% over the year

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