Australia’s March quarter wage price index (WPI) has come in below expectations. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), hourly wage growth excluding bonuses rose by 0.47% in the March quarter, missing expectations for an increase of 0.6%. The December quarter WPI was also revised lower to a gain of 0.47%, below the 0.6% rate originally reported. The WPI measures changes in ordinary hourly rates of pay, not the amount of hours worked or compositional changes in the workforce. Just hourly wage rates excluding bonuses. “Wage growth in the March quarter 2018 continues a period of subdued first quarter ... (full story)