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Private sector wage growth outpaced the public sector again, the ABS says.
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Annual wage growth highest in a decade over December quarter
22 February 2023
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9 minute read
Annual wage growth rose to 3.3 per cent in the December quarter with the seasonally adjusted wage price index rising 0.8 per cent according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
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Head of ABS prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said despite the increase being slightly lower than the previous quarter it was still the largest since 2012.
“The increase in hourly wage rates for the December 2022 quarter was lower than the increase for the September quarter (0.8 per cent compared to 1.1 per cent), said Ms Marquardt.
“It was, however, higher than any December quarter increase across the last decade, this follows on from the September and June 2022 quarters which were also higher than their comparable quarters back to 2012.”
“In combination these quarterly increases have resulted in the highest annual growth in hourly wages since December quarter 2012.”
The bureau also revealed private sector wage growth over the quarter was greater than the public sector, 0.8 per cent to 0.7 per cent, with the annual wage growth maintaining its significant disparity of 3.6 per cent for the private sector and 2.5 per cent for the public.
The industry with the greatest quarterly wage growth was accommodation and food services at 1.7 per cent, while the lowest was in the administrative and support services industry at 0.3 per cent.
The ABS also revealed the wholesale trade industry had the highest annual wage growth at 4.2 per cent, its highest since the 2012 December quarter, with education and training recording the lowest annual growth at 2.4 per cent.
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