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SA records wage drop

Posted December 2, 2008 07:25:00
Updated December 2, 2008 10:51:00

(Cathy Harper)

Business SA says an overall drop in South Australian wages in the September quarter shows employers are responding to the global financial crisis.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says nationally wages increased by 1.4 per cent, but decreased in South Australia by 1.7 per cent.

Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan says the demand for salary increases in the private sector in South Australia is not justified.

"Our public sector growth in salaries and wages has been clearly not matched by productivity and that's got to be attended to and that's a government issue, but in terms of our relative position in labour markets, this is still a really good place to do business," he said.

Mr Vaughan says there has also been 0.6 per cent increase in sales of goods and services.

"It's a marvellous irony in one sense that New South Wales is clearly in recession and in great difficulty, and they for years have been telling us that we're the rust bucket and yet in South Australia we're really kicking goals and still fighting above our

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