Australia Wage Growth

Australia's seasonally adjusted wage price index increased by 3.2% year-over-year in Q4 of 2024, slowing from an upwardly revised 3.6% growth in Q3 and matching market forecasts of a 3.2% gain. This marked the weakest wage price growth since Q3 of 2022, as wages in the public sector grew the least since Q4 of 2022 and fell below 3% for the first time since Q2 of 2023 (2.8% vs 3.7% in Q3), while private sector growth (3.3% vs 3.5%) was the lowest since Q2 of 2022. In original terms, the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry recorded the highest annual rise (4.7%), followed by transport, postal, and warehousing (3.8%), and manufacturing (3.7%). Meanwhile, the main industry contributors to the quarterly rise were jobs in health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and construction. On a quarterly basis, wage prices were up by 0.7%, easing from an upwardly revised 0.9% rise in Q3, softer than estimates of a 0.8% growth and marking the softest growth since Q1 of 2022.