The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released wage growth data for the March quarter, which came in softer than economists’ and the RBA’s expectations.
Wage growth lifted 0.8% over the quarter to be up 3.7% year-on-year:
Economists and the RBA has forecast quarterly wage growth of 0.9%. Thus, the softer result lessens chances of the RBA hiking rates at its next meeting.
Separate data released today by the Melbourne Institute suggests that if wages are rising, it is for unusually few people (chart from Alex Joiner):
Meanwhile, real wages fell by 3.3% in the year to March 2023:
Whereas Australian real wages have now fallen to 2010 levels:
Clearly, Australia is not experiencing a wage-price spiral.
To the contrary, Australian workers are going backwards at the fastest rate on record.
