WESTERN Australia has the third highest average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) of all Australian States, according to the first edition of the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection’s quarterly publication Labour Market Bulletin.
The publication draws much of its data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The AWOTE for WA was $883.60 per week in the November quarter of 2002, just below the Australian AWOTE of $888.70.
While annual growth in WA was 3.4 per cent from 2001, the AWOTE fell 0.1 per cent in the November quarter.
The only other State to have a quarterly drop was Tasmania, which also fell 0.1 per cent.
New South Wales recorded the highest AWOTE at $938.50, followed by Victoria with $890.50.
By comparing the AWOTE with the consumer price index, the ABS has been able to determine wages growth or decline in real terms.
According to the information published in the Labour Market Bulletin, WA has enjoyed real wages growth of more than 1 per cent in the year to December 2002. However, there are signs that real wages growth is trending downwards.