Private sector rates of pay increased to 3.8% annually in the March quarter, up from 3.6% in the previous three-month period, according to the ABS, but relatively weak public sector rises have restricted the economy-wide movement to 3.6% in trend terms, about half the rate of inflation.
Wage growth will exceed inflation from early next year and beat prices by 0.75 percentage points by mid-year, according to the Albanese Government's second Federal Budget.
The RBA is continuing to warn about the dangers of a wage-price spiral, saying the chances of it have declined, but could rise again if the FWC awards a "large" minimum rise this year or government employers ease or drop pay caps.
The Albanese Government has outlined for the first time the details of how it might implement its "same job, same pay" proposal that it framed to ensure labour hire arrangements are not used to undercut employees' pay and conditions.
The FWC's minimum wage review should order an increase that exceeds inflation, providing a real wage rise for the lowest paid, according to UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy.
Multi-year enterprise agreements, flaws in the "standard" Wage Price Index measure and public sector pay caps partially explain recent low wages growth, which would otherwise have been up to one percentage point higher last year, according to new university analysis.
Agreements filed with the FWC for approval in the first half of February delivered an average pay rise of 3.1% a year, according to "real-time" data released this morning.
Private sector rates of pay increased to 3.6% annually in the December quarter, up from 3.4% in the previous three-month period, according to the ABS, but relatively low public sector rises have restricted the economy-wide movement to 3.3%.
Wages in private sector agreements approved in the September quarter remained stuck at 2.9% a year, defying labour shortages and inflationary pressure, according to DEWR data.
