Childcare more affordable, as strong wage growth occurs

The September 2018 quarter has seen a marked increase in wages, with 1 per cent average growth across Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) wage price index (WPI) released on Wednesday 14 November.

When combined with the significant decrease in the relative cost of childcare highlighted in the CPI figures  the net impact on affordability is marked.

Within the report itself there is little difference between the increase in private sector and public sector wages with public wages experiencing an average 0.9 per cent growth, and private wages seeing 1 per cent growth on average.

New South Wales has shown the greatest wage growth in the public sector, with a 1.5 per cent increase from the June 2018 wages. The smallest public sector wage increase was experienced by South Australia, with only a 0.3 per cent increase from the previous quarter. On a year on year basis, Victoria has demonstrated the greatest wage growth in the public sector, with a 3.3 per cent increase from September 2017.

In the private sector, Tasmania has seen a very large increase in wages, with a 1.9 per cent increase from the June 2018 quarter. Interestingly, the public sector in Tasmania has only seen a 0.5 per cent increase in wages. Tasmania has seen the greatest growth year on year, with an average 2.6 per cent increase from September 2017.

The Tasmanian figures are consistent with indicators released last month, pointing to a boom period for the southern state.

Overall, Western Australia has seen the poorest wage growth overall, with only an average increase of 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter, and 1.6 per cent growth from the September 2017 quarter.