The Australian Bureau of Statistics is set to release the June quarter wage price index, which is anticipated to remain high but show a slight annual decline.

On a quarterly basis, ANZ expects the wage price index to rise by 0.9% for the June quarter, an increase from 0.8% in March, driven by seasonal factors and new enterprise agreements.

A recent survey indicates that employers are planning to increase basic pay by an average of 3.8% over the next year, up from a 3% rise in the previous year.

Despite these planned increases, wage growth in Australia has likely peaked and is slowing due to a softening job market.

Financial market economists predict a further decline in wage growth, with ANZ forecasting a 4% increase for the year ending in June.

The wage price index is crucial for understanding underlying price pressures in the labour market, especially amid ongoing inflation concerns.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently kept interest rates steady, citing persistent high inflation as a concern.

However, there has been a reported rise in expected redundancies, with 27% of employers planning job cuts, up from 23% in the previous quarter.

A survey of human resources professionals reveals mixed signals in the labour market, highlighting strong employment intentions, particularly in the public sector.

AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett suggested that redundancy plans may be linked to organizational restructuring and advancements in automation and AI.

In March 2023, the wage price index saw an annual increase of 4.1%, down from 4.2% in December 2022.