6345.0 - Wage Price Index, Australia, Mar 2018 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/05/2018   
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MEDIA RELEASE
16 May 2018
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
98/2018
Wage growth 0.5 % in March quarter 2018


The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.5 per cent in March quarter 2018 and 2.1 per cent through the year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said "Wage growth in the March quarter 2018 continues a period of subdued first quarter rises, primarily driven by regular increases in the Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries."

Seasonally adjusted, private sector wages rose 1.9 per cent and public sector wages grew 2.3 per cent through the year to March quarter 2018.

In original terms, through the year wage growth to the March quarter 2018 ranged from 1.4 per cent for the Mining industry to 2.7 per cent for the Health care and social assistance industry.

Victoria and Tasmania both recorded the highest through the year wage growth of 2.3 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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