SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES

			Jun Qtr 2013 to Sep Qtr 2013	Sep Qtr 2012 to Sep Qtr 2013
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI) Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Trend(a)
	Australia		0.6	2.6
	Sector
		Private	0.7	2.8
		Public	0.5	2.6
Seasonally Adjusted(b)
	Australia		0.5	2.7
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.7
		Public	0.5	2.6
Original
	Australia		1.0	2.7
	Sector
		Private	1.0	2.7
		Public	0.9	2.6
(a) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 42-43, 46. (b) See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 35-41, 46.

SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS


TOTAL HOURLY RATES OF PAY EXCLUDING BONUSES

QUARTERLY CHANGE (JUN QTR 2013 TO SEP QTR 2013)

• The trend index for Australia rose 0.6% in the September quarter 2013.
• In seasonally adjusted terms, both the Private and Public sector wage price indexes rose 0.5% in the September quarter 2013.
• The rises in original indexes at the industry level in the September quarter 2013 ranged from 0.2% for Financial and insurance services to 1.6% for Public administration and safety.

ANNUAL CHANGE (SEP QTR 2012 TO SEP QTR 2013)

• The trend index for Australia rose 2.6% through the year to the September quarter 2013, and the seasonally adjusted index rose 2.7%.
• Rises in the original indexes through the year to the September quarter 2013 at the industry level ranged from 1.9% for Professional, scientific and technical services to 3.4% for Electricity, gas, water and waste services.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
December 2013	19 February 2014
March 2014	21 May 2014
June 2014	13 August 2014
September 2014	12 November 2014

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Seasonally adjusted indexes have been added to the Key Figures and Key Points on the front page of this publication.


CHANGES IN NEXT ISSUE

The weights used to compile the WPI are updated each December quarter using expenditure on wages and salaries. The December quarter 2013 weight update will use expenditure on wages and salaries from the 2012 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours adjusted for price change to represent current period values.

As a result of preparatory work for the December quarter 2013 weight update, the ABS has discovered that the implementation of new weights in the December quarter 2012 did not occur. This has resulted in the WPI being calculated using 2011 weights for the period December quarter 2011 to September quarter 2013.

The ABS has determined that 2011 weights are a reasonable representation of employers' patterns of expenditure on wages and salaries up to and including the September quarter 2013. The WPI for the period December quarter 2012 to September quarter 2013 using 2011 weights is fit-for-purpose and will not be recompiled using 2012 weights. The 2011 weights are available as an Appendix in the September quarter 2012 publication.


ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Original indexes are compiled for various combinations of state/territory, sector and broad industry group. Indexes not included in this publication may be made available on request by telephoning WPI in Perth on (08) 9360 5151 or email wage.price.index@abs.gov.au.


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>.


INQUIRIES

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