DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

			Sep Qtr 2016 to Dec Qtr 2016	Dec Qtr 2015 to Dec Qtr 2016
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Trend(a)
	Australia		0.5	1.9
	Sector
		Private	0.4	1.8
		Public	0.6	2.3
Seasonally Adjusted(b)
	Australia		0.5	1.9
	Sector
		Private	0.4	1.8
		Public	0.6	2.3
Original
	Australia		0.4	2.0
	Sector
		Private	0.3	1.8
		Public	0.6	2.3
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 39-40, 42. (b) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 32-38, 42.
Source(s): Quarterly changes, Trend, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses-Web Page Graph 1 Source(s): Annual change, Original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - States and Territories-Web Page Graph 2 - Annual change Original

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (SEP QTR 2016 TO DEC QTR 2016)

• The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia both rose 0.5% in the December quarter 2016. This continues the subdued rate of wage growth recorded by the series over the last two years.
• The Private sector rose 0.4% and the Public sector rose 0.6%, seasonally adjusted.

ANNUAL CHANGE (DEC QTR 2015 TO DEC QTR 2016)

• The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia both rose 1.9% through the year to the December quarter 2016. This result equals the record low wages growth seen in the September quarter 2016.
• Rises in the original indexes through the year to the December quarter 2016 at the industry level ranged from 1.0% for Mining to 2.4% for Education and training and Health care and social assistance.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
March 2017	17 May 2017
June 2017	16 August 2017
September 2017	15 November 2017
December 2017	21 February 2018

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The weights used to compile the WPI have been updated in the December quarter 2016 using expenditure on wages and salaries from the 2016 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. Weights are updated every two years to reflect structural changes in the Australian economy. The 2016 weights are available in the Appendix in this publication and on the ABS website. Further information can be found in paragraphs 20-25 of the Explanatory Notes.


DATA REFERENCES

Data referenced in the Key Points and Commentary are available from the tables shown in this publication or in the corresponding tables of this publication on the ABS website <https://www.abs.gov.au>.


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