More wage inflation scaremongering

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The AFR today warns that “pay rises in private sector agreements recorded their biggest jump in 15 years at the end of last year, with the average wage increase accelerating to 3.5%, just as the Reserve Bank warns that “briskly” rising labour costs pose an inflation risk that might prompt it to lift interest rates further”.

The below chart from Greg Jericho tells the tale:

Annual wage growth in enterprise agreements

Public sector agreements recorded just 2.3% average growth, the same as in the September quarter.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.