Real Wages Index — methodology

What this metric measures

The Wage Price Index deflated by CPI, showing the purchasing power of wages over time. A value above 100 means wages have grown faster than prices since 2012; below 100 means they have fallen behind.

Why it matters: Tracks whether workers are getting richer or poorer in real terms over the long run. Australia's real wages have been essentially flat for a decade — one of the worst outcomes in the OECD.

Source & provenance

Publisher

ABS

Update frequency

quarterly

Licence

CC BY 4.0

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How the score is computed

The score is a 0–100 normalisation of the latest observation, compared to a baseline window. The traffic-light rating (RAG) reflects both the absolute level and the recent trend.

Direction

Higher is better

Trend window

60 months

Baseline

Last 10 years

{
  "red_max_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "amber_min_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "green_min_pct_of_baseline": 102
}