The industries where wages are growing fastest
It's good news for health workers, bad news for mine workers.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Wage Price Index (WPI) for September shows that wages growth throughout Australia increased modestly over the last quarter. However, annual growth rates, although positive, were at the lowest levels since the beginning of the series in 1998.
Analysing the data, among both public and private industries, the greatest gains in annual wage growth were seen in health care and social assistance, rising 2.4%.
The strongest quarterly wage gains were enjoyed by those in accommodation and food services (1.7%).
Within the private sector, Australia's mining industry suffered the lowest growth over the quarter, rising just 0.1% in the three months to September.
Annually, rises in the private sector ranged from 1% for those in mining to 2.5% for electricity, gas, water and waste services workers.
Both mining (1%) and administrative and support services (1.2%) recorded the lowest through the year growth since the beginning of the WPI.
Looking at the public sector, the greatest quarterly wage growth gains were for those in public administration and safety, up 1.1% in the September quarter.
Those in education and training experienced the lowest annual wage growth, up just 0.6% year-on-year.
Annually, rises in the public sector ranged from 1.2% for those in professional, scientific and technical services to 2.4% for education and training workers.
In a speech addressing monetary policy last month, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Philip Lowe said excess capacity, lower commodity prices and reduced pricing power forced the wages slowdown.
However, he argued the RBA wouldn't cut rates merely to push inflation back within the 2-3% target band.
Looking for a little extra cash? Empty out the garage! The average Australian household has $5,200 in unwanted goods which could be sold second-hand to generate additional income.
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