Wage growth in Australia gained a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on quarter in the second three months of 2017, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous three months.
"Low wages growth continued in the June quarter 2017, with annual wages growth continuing to hover around 2 per cent. This low wages growth reflects, in part, ongoing spare capacity in the labor market," said ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman.
Private sector wages added 0.4 percent on quarter and public sector wages gained 0.6 percent.
The rises in indexes at the industry level ranged from flat for accommodation and food services to 0.8 percent for mining.
On a yearly basis, wages were up 1.9 – again matching forecasts and unchanged from the first quarter.
Private sector wages gained 1.8 percent on year, while public sector wages advanced 2.4 percent.
Rises in the original indexes through the year to Q2 at the industry level ranged from 1.1 percent for mining to 2.6 percent for health care and social assistance.
Western Australia saw the lowest annual wage growth of 1.4 percent and South Australia and Northern Territory the highest at 2.1 percent.
Also on Wednesday, the latest survey from Westpac Bank showed that the Australian economy picked up steam in July as its leading index moved up 0.12 percent on month.
That follows the downwardly revised 0.15 percent decline in June (originally 0.14 percent).
by RTT Staff Writer
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