Warning signs for Australian wage growth

The December quarter wage price index from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported the strongest nominal growth in wages since March 2009.

Public sector wage growth surged in Q4, buoyed by pay outcomes for health workers and teachers, whereas wage pressures across the private sector abated.

Indeed, the next chart from Justin Fabo at Antipodean Macro showed that only “16% of private-sector jobs in Australia received a pay increase in Q4 (of 4.4%), down from 21% a year earlier and the lowest share since Q4 2019”:

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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.