Wage bargaining deals remain restrained

Wage growth under recent enterprise bargaining agreements has remained restrained and in line with a subdued labour market, federal government figures suggest.

Department of Employment data released on Friday shows the average annualised wage increase through collective agreements in the December quarter was 3.5 per cent and unchanged from three months earlier.

The annualised rate for the private sector rose to 3.6 per cent in the December quarter from 3.5 per cent, but public sector agreements eased to 3.4 per cent from 3.5 per cent.

Agreement outcomes remain above the Reserve Bank of Australia's preferred wage growth measure - the wage price index - released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The December quarter index showed an annual rate of 2.6 per cent, which is well below the 4.5 per cent level usually considered a threat to the inflation outlook.