Australian firms have paid out a record amount in wages, early this year thanks to a hiring boom that has provided a much-needed boost to consumer incomes and spending at a time when overall wage growth is crawling at the slowest pace ever.
Monday's figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that business paid out $A135.5 billion in wages and salaries in the March quarter, up 0.8 per cent on the previous three months and 5.0 per cent higher than a year ago.
Annual growth in the total pay bill was about two-and-a-half times that of individual wage increases, reflecting hefty gains in employment since the start of 2017.
Gross company profits surged 5.9 per cent, above analyst forecasts of a three per cent rise, while business inventories climbed 0.7 per cent compared with expectations of 0.1 per cent, ABS data showed.
The strong company profits and wage bill figures augur well for Australian households who are battling anaemic wage growth, high mortgage debt and easing home prices.
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