Public sector sees stronger gains
The Wage Price Index (WPI) increased by 0.8% in the June quarter of 2024, and 4.1% for the year, according to latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Private sector wages rose by 0.7% in the June quarter, a decline from the 0.9% growth recorded in the March quarter.
“The June quarter 2024 private sector rise was the lowest rise for a June quarter since 2021 and the equal lowest rise for any quarter since December quarter 2021,” said Michelle Marquardt (pictured above), ABS head of prices statistics.
The latest Wage Price Index also showed a 0.9% increase in public sector wages, up from 0.6% in the March quarter. Although this was below the 1.3% growth recorded in the December quarter of 2023, it marked the highest increase for any June quarter in the public sector since 2012, when it reached 1%.
“The stronger June quarterly rise for the public sector was largely due to the newly synchronised timing pattern of Commonwealth public sector agreement increases,” Marquardt said. “All Australian Public Service employees received pay increases effective March 14, 2024. This led to a larger increase in the contribution Commonwealth jobs made to public sector wage growth.
“Pay rises for these jobs had previously been paid at different times across quarters depending on the timing of individual agency agreements.”
On an annual basis, private sector wage growth was 4.1% in the June quarter, following three consecutive quarters of 4.2%. This is an improvement over the 3.9% growth recorded in the same period last year.
In the public sector, annual wage growth reached 3.9%, up from 3.8% in the March quarter and 3.1% in the June quarter of 2023. This increase reflects the impact of new state and federal wage policies implemented throughout 2023.
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