Wage growth is now at the lowest point on record, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reporting the national wage price index (WPI) increased by only 0.2 per cent in the June quarter, up 1.8 per cent over the past year.
“After a steady period of wage growth over the previous 12 months, wages recorded the lowest annual growth in the 22-year history of the WPI,” said Andrew Tomadini, Head of Price Statistics at the ABS.
“The June 2020 quarter was the first full period in which COVID-19 social and business restrictions were captured in the WPI.”
“The June 2020 quarter rise was mainly in the public sector (0.6 per cent). Private sector wage growth eased to 0.1 per cent as businesses adjusted to changes in the Australian economy.
“The fall in private sector wages is mainly due to a number of large wage reductions across senior executive and higher paid jobs,” Mr Tomadini explained.
The electricity, gas, water and waste services industry experienced the largest quarterly rise (0.6 per cent), while ‘Other’ services industry saw wages drop -0.9 per cent – the largest quarterly fall.
For the eighth consecutive quarter Western Australia recorded the lowest wages growth, of 1.6 per cent
