Australian wage growth plummets

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released its Labor Price Index for the December quarter of 2019, which revealed falling wage growth:

According to the ABS, wages grew by just 0.53% (both s.a. and trend) in the December quarter. Private sector wages grew by 0.53% (both s.a. and trend) over the quarter, whereas public sector wages grew by 0.44% (s.a.) and 0.59% (trend).

Over the year, total wages grew by just 2.22% (both s.a. and trend), with the private sector experiencing just 2.16% (both s.a. and trend) growth and public sector wages growing by 2.25% (s.a.) and 2.32% (trend).

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.