MARCH KEY FIGURES

			Dec Qtr 2008 to Mar Qtr 2009	Mar Qtr 2008 to Mar Qtr 2009
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Trend(a)
	Australia		1.0	4.2
	Sector
		Private	0.9	4.1
		Public	1.1	4.4
Original
	Australia		0.7	4.1
	Sector
		Private	0.7	4.0
		Public	1.1	4.4
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 45-46, 49

WPI-Quarterly changes: Trend (a), Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses

WPI-Annual change: original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - For selected industries, Mar Qtr 2009

MARCH KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (DEC QTR 2008 TO MAR QTR 2009)

• The index for all employee jobs in Australia increased by 1.0%, in trend terms.
• The increases in indexes (in original terms) at the industry level ranged from 0.1% for Communication services to 1.9% for Education.

ANNUAL CHANGE (MAR QTR 2008 TO MAR QTR 2009)

• The increase in the trend index through the year to March 2009 for all employee jobs in Australia was 4.2%.
• Increases in the original indexes through the year to March 2009 at the industry level ranged from 2.8% for Communication services to 5.7% for Mining.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
June 2009	12 August 2009
September 2009	18 November 2009
December 2009	24 February 2010
March 2010	19 May 2010

CHANGES IN FUTURE ISSUES

From the September quarter 2009, the content and format of tables containing the industry classification will change to reflect the contemporary Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC06). Details about this will be outlined in Information Paper: Update on ANZSIC 2006 Implementation for the Labour Price Index, Australia 2009 (cat.no. 6345.0.55.001) to be released on 24 June 2009.


ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Original indexes are compiled for various combinations of state/territory, sector and broad industry 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 Kathryn Parlor 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 Kathryn Parlor on Perth (08) 9360 5151.