SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian wages grew at a slightly slower clip in the fourth quarter from the third, but salary gains at private companies were the highest in five years, a boon for the country's heavily-indebted households who are holding back on everyday spending.
The wage price index rose 0.5 percent in the three months ended December from 0.6 percent in the September quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed on Wednesday.
Annual wage growth was steady at 2.3 percent, in line with forecasts, and above an all-time trough of 1.9 percent seen during 2016 and 2017.
The miserly pace of wage growth amid other economic uncertainties weighing on consumption is a major reason the central bank will likely keep rates on hold for a long time.
Private sector wage growth, which has lagged government pay hikes for the last four years, jumped to 2.5 percent - the highest since December 2014.
Wage growth in healthcare and education bolstered the December quarter outcome, with mining wages too picking up but still nowhere close to the rate enjoyed during the decade-long mining boom that began in the early 2000s.
In the private sector, financial services recorded the highest quarterly pay rise of 0.9 percent.
Wage growth has steadily picked up since mid-2017 but is still well below rates of over 4 percent seen between 2005 and 2009.
As a result, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) does not see core inflation reaching the mid-point of its 2 to 3 percent target band through 2021.
The RBA has held rates at a record low 1.50 percent since last easing in August 2016, the longest period of stable policy in modern history.
Earlier this month, it shifted away from its previous tightening bias to a neutral stance, saying the risks for a move are now more evenly balanced on either side as the country's once booming property market slows.
Financial markets are already wagering a more than 50-percent chance of a cut later this year.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Jacqueline Wong)
