The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released its Wage Price Index for the March quarter of 2013, which revealed a continued moderation of wage pressures across the economy (see below charts).
According to the ABS, wages grew by 0.7% in the March quarter, below analyst’s expectations of 0.9% growth. Private sector wages grew by 0.7% over the quarter, whereas private sector wages grew by 0.6%. Over the year, total wages grew by 3.1%, with the private sector experiencing 3.2% growth and the public sector 3.0% growth.
You can see from the next chart, which plots non-seasonally adjusted wages growth on a 6-month moving average basis (in order to reduce volatility), that Western Australia has led the nation in wages growth since the commencement of the commodities boom in 2004. However, as is the case everywhere, wages growth is now declining.
In a similar vein, the mining sector has experienced by far the highest wages growth in the nation, with retail trade the laggard over much of this period (see below charts).
