MNI DATA IMPACT: Australia Wage Growth Steady In Q2

By Lachlan Colquhoun

     SYDNEY (MNI) - Australian Wage growth higher for the quarter, flat for the

year, increasing 0.6% Q/Q compared with a 0.5% increase in the first quarter. In

yearly terms, growth was unchanged at 2.3%, data released by the Australian

Bureau of Statistics showed.

     Other points of interest from the data:

     RBA watching closely 

     Wages growth remains a key to the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary

policy, and the Bank will have found little in today's result to change its

dovish outlook. Wages need to rise and unemployment to fall for the RBA to

change its outlook. In testimony to a Parliamentary committee last week, RBA

Governor Philip Lowe said the Bank was looking for annual wages growth of 3.5%.

Private sector wage growth still weak 

Wages growth in the private sector increased by only 0.5% in Q2, delivering an

annualised result of 2.3%. This compares to the 0.8% increase for public sector

wages, which increased 2.8% y/y. Workers in the public sector in Victoria

enjoyed the highest increase, with wages up 3.7%

Health jobs paying well 

Wages in the health care sector were up by 3.3 per cent over the year, the

fastest of any sector, while the slowest annual growth at 1.7 per cent was for

workers in wholesale trade.

Media and telecoms falling behind 

On a quarterly basis, wages in the information media and telecoms sectors

recorded the lowest growth of only 0.1%. The biggest quarterly rise was 0.7% in

the health, electricity, social assistance, water and waste services sectors.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MALDS$,M$A$$$,M$L$$$,MT$$$$]