Private sector wages growth continued to hit new lows since the data series began in September 1997, totalling offsetting a higher rate of growth in the public sector. Seasonally adjusted private sector wages growth for the year to the December quarter 2015 was 2.0%, while the comparable public sector rise was 2.6%. Total wages grew by 2.2% for the 12 months to December, which is also the lowest on record and slightly less than expectations of 0.6% for the quarter and 2.3% for the year.
The Finance/Insurance segment had the highest rate of annual increase while the Administrative/Support segment had the lowest. The largest quarterly rise of 0.7% was recorded by South Australia while Tasmania recorded the smallest quarterly rise of 0.1%.
ANZ’s Justin Fabo said lower wage growth may be behind last year’s unexpected employment growth but he expects “modest improvement in wages and household income growth, and hence consumption growth, over the year ahead.”