• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

PRICE INDEXES AND CONTRACT PRICE INDEXATION

JUNE KEY FIGURES

			Mar Qtr 2006 to Jun Qtr 2006	Jun Qtr 2005 to Jun Qtr 2006
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Seasonally Adjusted
	Australia		1.1	4.1
	Sector
		Private	1.0	4.0
		Public	1.2	4.4
Original
	Australia		0.8	4.2
	Sector
		Private	0.8	4.0
		Public	0.7	4.4

WPI-Quarterly changes, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses

WPI-Annual change: original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - For selected industries

JUNE KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGES (MAR QTR 2006 TO JUN QTR 2006)

• The index for all employee jobs in Australia increased by 1.1%, seasonally adjusted.
• The increases in indexes (in original terms) at the industry level ranged from 0.3% for Accommodation, cafes and restaurants and Cultural and recreational services to 2.4% for Mining.
• Increases in the indexes (in original terms) at the occupation level ranged from 0.6% for Associate professionals and Advanced clerical and service workers to 1.1% for Tradespersons and related workers and Intermediate production and transport workers.

• The seasonally adjusted increase through the year to June 2006 for all employee jobs in Australia was 4.1% (in trend terms, also 4.1%).
• Increases in the original indexes through the year to June 2006 at the industry level ranged from 3.3% for Accommodation, cafes and restaurants and Cultural and recreational services to 6.9% for Electricity, gas and water supply, compared with 4.2% for all industries.

FURTHER INFORMATION

More detailed information on the Labour Price Index (LPI) is available in Labour Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods, Australia (cat. no. 6351.0.55.001).

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or David Taylor on Perth (08) 9360 5151.

COMMENTARY


SECTOR

For All sectors, the seasonally adjusted through the year movement of 4.1% compares to a 4.0% change for the year through to March quarter 2006. The seasonally adjusted through the year increase for the private sector has been steady at 4.0% for each of the last four quarters. The seasonally adjusted through the year movement for the public sector was 4.4%, compared with a 4.2% change for the year through to March quarter 2006.

INDUSTRY/OCCUPATION

In original terms, the industries recording the largest increases for the period through the year to June quarter 2006 were Electricity, gas and water (6.9%), Mining (5.9%) and Construction (5.5%). Strong demand for skilled labour appears to be continuing with employers reporting increases are being paid to retain employees and match market rates. Amongst the broad occupation groups, the highest increases for the year through to June quarter 2006 were for Intermediate production and transport workers (4.8%), Tradespersons and related workers (4.7%) and Professionals (4.5%).

The industries recording the smallest increases for the period through the year to June quarter were Accommodation, cafes and restaurants (3.3%), Cultural and recreational services (3.3%) Retail trade (3.4%) and Communication services (3.4%).

STATE

Increases for all states and territories for the June quarter 2006 were between 0.6% and 0.8%, with the exception of Western Australia with 1.3%. The Western Australian result was largely driven by the Private sector which recorded a rise of 1.4% for the period. Western Australia also recorded the largest increase for the year through to June quarter 2006 for the Private sector (5.1%).

Queensland recorded the largest All sector increase among the States and territories for the period through the year to June quarter 2006 (4.8%).