Wage growth slowest in years, worst since March 2022

Wages grew by 3.2% in the year to the December quarter.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the slowest pace of wage growth since March 2022.

The slow growth mirrors the rate of inflation (rising prices), which has dropped steadily over the past year.

Wages

The ABS releases the WPI every three months. It tracks changes in the hourly wages earned across a range of jobs in the country.

The 3.2% December increase is down from previous quarters.

For example, the September 2024 saw a 3.6% increase, while the December 2023 quarter saw an annual rise of 4.2% — the highest since 2008.

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The ABS said the most significant wage rises occurred in the healthcare and social services industries.

Some of the lowest rates of growth were across the arts, real estate, and gas, electricity, and water services.

Both public and private sector workers experienced the slowest rate of growth in recent years.

Annual inflation was 2.4% in the year to December.

That means the overall rate of wage growth has been higher, on average, than inflation, according to the latest figures.

Inflation has been coming down in recent years from a peak of 7.8% in December 2022.