But Wage Price Index growth slows down in annual terms
Australia's Wage Price Index (WPI) eased slightly in annual terms in June 2026 amid the decline in jobs with larger wage rises, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest ABS data showed that the WPI went up 0.8% in the June quarter 2026, and 3.2% annually.
However, the ABS noted that the annual growth in WPI is slightly slower than last year's.
"Annual wage growth of 3.2% is slightly down from 3.4% at the same time last year," said Rachael McCririck, ABS head of prices statistics.
"Although we're currently below the late 2023 peak of 4.3%, annual wage growth remains above the 2.2% that we were seeing in the December quarter 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic."
Drop in jobs offering larger wages
The ABS said a contributor to the slowdown was the decline in jobs that offered larger wage rises.
According to the report, just 14.3% of jobs had an annualised wage change between four and six per cent, down from 17.8% in the same period last year.
Only 6.7% of jobs recorded an annualised wage change of more than six per cent, down from the 7.3% a year ago.
"The decline in the share of jobs with larger wage rises has contributed to slower wage growth overall," McCririck said.
On the other hand, 79% of jobs recorded an annualised wage change of less than four per cent, up from the 75% in the June quarter of 2025. This is the largest share that ABS recorded since the 84% in June quarter 2022.
The ABS said 4.1% of jobs logged a wage cut in the June 2026 quarter. Another 14.2% had an annualised wage change between zero and two per cent.
One in five (21.2%) of jobs recorded a wage increase between two and three per cent while 39.5% registered an annualised wage change between three and four per cent.
Public sector drives wage price index
Overall, the 3.2% annual rise in WPI is driven by the public sector, following scheduled pay rises for Commonwealth employees.
Public sector wages went up 3.4% in annual terms, outpacing the 3.1% growth in private sector wages for the sixth quarter in a row.
"Rises paid to state government public service jobs were the main driver of public sector growth, supported by scheduled rises paid under the existing APS-wide enterprise agreement for Commonwealth employees," McCririck said.
