Australian Wage Gains Cement Case for Prolonged RBA Pause

Australia’s annual wage growth remained elevated last quarter, underscoring a tight labor market and persistently weak productivity and suggesting inflationary pressures may take time to cool in a challenge for policy makers.

The Wage Price Index advanced an annual 3.4% in the three months through September, matching economists’ estimate, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday. On a quarterly basis, wages grew 0.8%. On a quarterly and annual basis, public sector wages grew at a faster pace than the private sector for the third consecutive quarter, the report showed.