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Wage Price Index, Australia

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The Wage Price Index measures changes in the price of labour services. It is unaffected by changes in the labour force composition

Reference period

December 2019

Released

19/02/2020

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Key statistics

The seasonally adjusted WPI rose 0.5% this quarter.
The seasonally adjusted WPI rose 2.2% over the last twelve months.
The seasonally adjusted Private sector rose 0.5% this quarter.
The seasonally adjusted Public sector rose 0.4% this quarter.

Main features

December key statistics

The seasonally adjusted WPI:

rose 0.5% this quarter, compared to a rise of 0.5% in the September quarter 2019.
rose 2.2% over the twelve months to the December quarter 2019.

			Sep Qtr 2019 to Dec Qtr 2019	Dec Qtr 2018 to Dec Qtr 2019
			% change	% change
Wage Price Index (WPI)
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses
Trend(a)
	Australia		0.5	2.2
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.2
		Public	0.6	2.3
Seasonally Adjusted(b)
	Australia		0.5	2.2
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.2
		Public	0.4	2.2
Original
	Australia		0.5	2.2
	Sector
		Private	0.5	2.2
		Public	0.4	2.2

a. See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 39-40, 42.
b. See Explanatory Notes paragraphs 32-38, 42.

Sector

Seasonally adjusted:

The Private sector rose 0.5% this quarter.
The Public sector rose 0.4% this quarter.

Through the year

Seasonally adjusted:

The Private sector rose 2.2% over the twelve months to the December quarter 2019.
The Public sector rose 2.2% over the twelve months to the December quarter 2019.
The Public sector recorded the lowest change since the start of the series.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses
	Private (%)	Public (%)
Dec-15	0.5	0.6
Mar-16	0.5	0.6
Jun-16	0.5	0.6
Sep-16	0.3	0.6
Dec-16	0.5	0.6
Mar-17	0.5	0.6
Jun-17	0.5	0.6
Sep-17	0.5	0.5
Dec-17	0.5	0.6
Mar-18	0.5	0.6
Jun-18	0.6	0.6
Sep-18	0.5	0.6
Dec-18	0.6	0.7
Mar-19	0.5	0.5
Jun-19	0.5	0.7
Sep-19	0.5	0.5
Dec-19	0.5	0.4

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses

["","Private","Public"]

[["Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19"],[[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.29999999999999999],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.59999999999999998],[0.5],[0.59999999999999998],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5],[0.5]],[[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.5],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.59999999999999998],[0.69999999999999996],[0.5],[0.69999999999999996],[0.5],[0.40000000000000002]]]

[]

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[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"0.2","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"1.6","axis_title":"%","precision":"","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Commentary

Main contributors

State and territory contributors were:

Victoria,
New South Wales.

Industry contributors were:

Health care and social assistance,
Professional, scientific and technical services,
Financial and insurance services.

Wage growth by state or territory

Original estimates:

The Northern Territory recorded the highest quarterly rise of 0.9%.
The Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest quarterly rise of 0.2%.
Victoria recorded the highest through the year rise of 2.7%.
Western Australia recorded the lowest through the year rise of 1.7%.
On an annual basis the Western Australia WPI has remained under 2.0% since June quarter 2016.

Annual change, original, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - states and territories
	Private (%)	Public (%)
NSW	2.1	2.3
VIC	2.4	3.5
QLD	2.0	1.2
SA	2.4	1.7
WA	1.8	1.2
TAS	2.7	2.2
NT	2.3	2.9
ACT	2.7	1.9
Australia	2.2	2.2

Annual change, original, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - states and territories

["","Private","Public"]

[["NSW","VIC","QLD","SA","WA","TAS","NT","ACT","Australia"],[[2.1000000000000001],[2.3999999999999999],[2],[2.3999999999999999],[1.8],[2.7000000000000002],[2.2999999999999998],[2.7000000000000002],[2.2000000000000002]],[[2.2999999999999998],[3.5],[1.2],[1.7],[1.2],[2.2000000000000002],[2.8999999999999999],[1.8999999999999999],[2.2000000000000002]]]

[]

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[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"1","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"6","axis_title":"%","precision":"","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Wage growth by industry

Original estimates:

Financial and insurance services recorded the highest quarterly rise of 0.9%.
Accommodation and food services, and Other services recorded the lowest quarterly rise of 0.2%.
Health care and social assistance recorded the highest through the year rise of 3.1%.
Information, media and telecommunications recorded the lowest through the year rise of 1.6%.

Annual and quarterly changes, original, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - industry
	Annual Change (%)	Quarterly Change (%)
Mining	2.2	0.5
Manufacturing	1.8	0.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	2.9	0.6
Construction	1.8	0.5
Wholesale trade	2.0	0.4
Retail trade	1.8	0.4
Accommodation and food services	2.2	0.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	2.4	0.3
Information media and telecommunications	1.6	0.6
Financial and insurance services	2.1	0.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.0	0.3
Professional, scientific and technical services	2.3	0.5
Administrative and support services	1.9	0.4
Public administration and safety	2	0.4
Education and training	1.9	0.4
Health care and social assistance	3.1	0.4
Arts and recreation services	2.2	0.6
Other services	2	0.2
All Industries	2.2	0.5

Annual and quarterly changes, original, total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - industry

["","Annual Change","Quarterly Change"]

[["Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Construction","Wholesale trade","Retail trade","Accommodation and food services","Transport, postal and warehousing","Information media and telecommunications","Financial and insurance services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Professional, scientific and technical services","Administrative and support services","Public administration and safety","Education and training","Health care and social assistance","Arts and recreation services","Other services","All Industries"],[[2.2000000000000002],[1.8],[2.8999999999999999],[1.8],[2],[1.8],[2.2000000000000002],[2.3999999999999999],[1.6000000000000001],[2.1000000000000001],[2],[2.2999999999999998],[1.8999999999999999],[2],[1.8999999999999999],[3.1000000000000001],[2.2000000000000002],[2],[2.2000000000000002]],[[0.5],[0.40000000000000002],[0.59999999999999998],[0.5],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.20000000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[0.59999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[0.29999999999999999],[0.5],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.59999999999999998],[0.20000000000000001],[0.5]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"1","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"7","axis_title":"%","precision":"","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Changes in this release

In this release the quarterly movement graph in the Main Features has changed from Trend to Seasonally Adjusted to better align with the Key Statistics identified. Trend data is available in Table 1 of the ' Data downloads' section.

Use of price indexes in contracts

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).

Prices Indexes and Inflation contains a page Use of Price Indexes in Contracts that sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Frequently asked questions

The Wage Price Index FAQs page has answers to a number of common questions to do with price indexes and the Wage Price Index, in particular.

Data downloads - time series spreadsheets

I-Note

Table 1. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector, original, seasonally adjusted and trend

Data files

Download xls [94.5 KB]

Table 2a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [67.5 KB]

Table 2b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [107.5 KB]

Table 3a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: private sector by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [67.5 KB]

Table 3b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: private sector by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [106.5 KB]

Table 4a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: public sector by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [67.5 KB]

Table 4b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: public sector by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [108 KB]

Table 5a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [194 KB]

Table 5b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [382.5 KB]

Table 7a. Hourly rates of pay including bonuses: sector, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [57 KB]

Table 7b. Hourly rates of pay including bonuses: sector, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [84.5 KB]

Table 8a. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [68 KB]

Table 8b. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [108 KB]

Table 9a. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [194 KB]

Table 9b. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [383.5 KB]

All WPI series: original (quarterly index numbers)

Data files

Download xls [308.5 KB]

All WPI series: original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data files

Download xls [250.5 KB]

Data downloads - data cubes

63450. Distribution of expenditure on wages, Wage Price Index, Australia

Data files

Download xls [780.5 KB]

Methodology

Wage Price Index, Australia methodology, December 2019

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APA

Wage Price Index, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Main features

December key statistics

Sector

Through the year

Commentary

Main contributors

Wage growth by state or territory

Wage growth by industry

Changes in this release

Use of price indexes in contracts

Frequently asked questions

Data downloads - time series spreadsheets

I-Note

Table 1. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector, original, seasonally adjusted and trend

Table 2a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 2b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 3a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: private sector by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 3b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: private sector by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 4a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: public sector by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 4b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: public sector by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 5a. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 5b. Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 7a. Hourly rates of pay including bonuses: sector, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 7b. Hourly rates of pay including bonuses: sector, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 8a. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 8b. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: all sectors by state, original (quarterly index numbers)

Table 9a. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Table 9b. Ordinary hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses: sector by industry, original (quarterly index numbers)

All WPI series: original (quarterly index numbers)

All WPI series: original (financial year index numbers for year ended June quarter)

Data downloads - data cubes

63450. Distribution of expenditure on wages, Wage Price Index, Australia

Methodology

Articles

Wages rose 0.5% in the December quarter 2019

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