TAKE CARE in using seasonally adjusted and trend estimates. See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 37 to 45.

PRICE INDEXES AND CONTRACT PRICE INDEXATION

MARCH KEY FIGURES

			Dec Qtr 2007 to Mar Qtr 2008	Mar Qtr 2007 to Mar Qtr 2008
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Seasonally Adjusted(a)
	Australia		0.9	4.1
	Sector
		Private	0.9	4.1
		Public	0.8	3.9
Original
	Australia		0.9	4.1
	Sector
		Private	0.9	4.2
		Public	0.8	3.9
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 37-45

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

WPI-Annual change: original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - For selected industries, Mar Qtr 2008

MARCH KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (DEC QTR 2007 TO MAR QTR 2008)

• The index for all employee jobs in Australia increased by 0.9%, seasonally adjusted.
• The increases in indexes (in original terms) at the industry level ranged from 0.3% for Communication services and Accommodation, cafes and restaurants to 1.7% for Mining.

ANNUAL CHANGE (MAR QTR 2007 TO MAR QTR 2008)

• The increase in the seasonally adjusted index through the year to March 2008 for all employee jobs in Australia was 4.1%.
• Increases in the original indexes through the year to March 2008 at the industry level ranged from 2.4% for Accommodation, cafes and restaurants to 5.8% for Mining, compared with 4.1% for all industries.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
June 2008	13 August 2008
September 2008	12 November 2008
December 2008	18 February 2009
March 2009	13 May 2009

CHANGES IN FUTURE ISSUES

The wage price indexes for occupation groups will be discontinued after the release of the September quarter 2008 figures. This data appears in Tables 7 and 8 of this publication and in electronic Tables 7a and 7b on the ABS website. Users of this data who are interested in discussing what other wage price index data are available, can contact David Taylor on (08) 9360 5151 or email labour.price.index@abs.gov.au.


ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Original indexes are compiled for various combinations of state/territory, sector, broad industry group and broad occupation group. Seasonally adjusted and trend indexes are compiled only for total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses for each of the private sector, public sector and all sectors. Indexes not included in this publication may be made available on request by telephoning David Taylor on Perth (08) 9360 5151.


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.