Quarterly wage rate indices, 2008

1. A general upward movement is noted in the quarterly wage rate index across the first three quarters of 2008 and a slight decrease in the 4th quarter. The index, with September 2006 as base, stood at 109.2 in the 1st quarter and rose to 109.7 in the 2nd quarter. In the 3rd quarter, it increased significantly by 18.5 points to 128.2 and then decreased slightly by 0.1 point in the 4th quarter.

2. The increase in the 3rd quarter was due mainly to the implementation of the PRB report for the public sector and the payment of salary compensation for the private sector.

Wage rate index, year 2008

3. The overall wage rate index for 2008 stood at 118.8 compared to 104.3 in 2007, that is, an increase of 14.5 points.

4. The main contributors to the increase of 14.5 points in the index in 2008 were ‘Public administration & defence; compulsory social security’ (3.0 points), ‘Education’ (2.3 points), ‘Manufacturing, mining and quarrying’ (1.8 points) and ‘Transport, storage and communications’ (1.4 points).

5. The most important industry groups in terms of weight, that is, the ‘Public administration & defence, compulsory social security’ sector and the ‘Manufacturing, mining & quarrying’ sector registered increases in their wage rate indices by 17.3% and 10.3% respectively.

6. The wage rate index for the General Government sector which comprises ministries, government departments and agencies operating under them; municipalities; district councils and Rodrigues Regional Assembly increased by 18.1% in 2008 compared to 2007. This rise is higher than the increase of 13.9% registered for all sectors altogether. This is mainly due to the implementation of the PRB report in 2008.

April 2009