Recent data has shown an uptick in the Wage Price Index
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the Wage Price Index (WPI) data for the September quarter.
Throughout the three-month period, the WPI climbed 0.8%, 3.4% higher than the same period in 2024.
“Annual wage growth to the September quarter 2025 was 3.4 per cent. Annual wage growth remained steady compared to the June quarter 2025 but was slightly lower than this time last year,” said ABS head of price statistics, Michelle Marquardt.
The public sector wages outpaced private sector wages, with each growing 0.9% and 0.7% throughout the September quarter, respectively.
The public sector saw a 3.8% increase yearly and private sector rose 3.2%.
“State government pay rises contributed 82 per cent of public sector wage growth this quarter,” Marquardt said.
“This September quarter, 47% of private sector jobs saw a change in their wages compared to 49% in the same quarter last year.”
The accommodation and food services industry saw the largest quarterly increase in wages, rising 2.1%.
Retail trade followed, with an increase of 1.9%, administrative and support services up 1.8%, and arts and recreation services up 1.7%.
The smallest recorded quarterly increases were the financial and insurance services industry, with wages increasing just 0.4%.
Electricity, gas, water and waste services and public administration and safety each led to the largest yearly increases, with wages climbing 4.3%.
Health care and social assistance followed at 3.8% and mining up 3.6%.
Western Australia recorded both the largest quarterly increase in wages and yearly increase, up 1.5% and 4%, respectively.
NSW and Victoria each saw wages climb 1.3% throughout the quarter and 3.3% yearly. Queensland reported 1.4% increase quarterly and 3.4% rise yearly.
