INTRODUCTION
This Information Paper is being released in conjunction with the publication by the ABS of the first quarterly movements of a new statistical series, the Wage Cost Index (WCI). The December quarter 1997 issue of the publication Wage Cost Index, Australia (Cat. no. 6345.0) was released on 26 March 1998.
The paper describes the range of indexes produced, the reasons for developing the WCI, the intended uses of the indexes, and the methods used for data collection and index compilation. It also outlines the conceptual framework of the WCI, and ABS plans for further work in the area of labour cost indexes.
