6345.0 - Wage Price Index, Australia, Sep 2014 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 12/11/2014   
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MEDIA RELEASE
12 November 2014
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
157/2014

Wage Growth Subdued

The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.6 per cent in the September quarter 2014 and 2.6 per cent over the last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The rate of wages growth has remained subdued in seasonally adjusted terms since December 2012, fluctuating between 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent each quarter.

In the Private sector, seasonally adjusted wage growth in the September quarter was 0.6 per cent. Public sector wages grew 0.5 per cent in the same period.

The Accommodation and food services industry had the largest quarterly rise at 1.9 per cent due, in part, to the minimum wage increase. The smallest quarterly rise across all industries was in the Mining industry, where wages rose 0.2 per cent, the smallest quarterly growth ever recorded for this industry. Wage rises in the Mining industry was 2.5 per cent over the last year. This is in comparison to the annual increase of 5.2 per cent for the year ending September 2012.

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

Media notes:

    • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.