Jobs
Australia Raises Minimum Wage 5.75%, Boosting Rate-Hike Pressure
- RBC’s Ong says decision adds to challenging labor cost picture
- Currency, bond yields gain on prospects of further tightening
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Australia’s industrial relations umpire raised the national minimum wage by 5.75% in an effort to support low-paid workers, a decision that boosted the chances of an interest-rate increase as soon as next week.
The new minimum rate will be A$882.80 ($580.53) a week, or A$23.23 an hour, from July 1, Justice Adam Hatcher, president of the Fair Work Commission, said in Friday’s decision. He argued the result will “not have discernible macro-economic effects.”