Total hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, for an annual rise of 2.3 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

The annual figures is the lowest recorded since the ABS began the current wages data series in 1998.

Annualised wages growth hit a low point of 2.8 per cent during the credit crunch phase of the global financial crisis in 2009, but recovering to 3.8 per cent in 2010.

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It has declined sharply since late 2011 – widely considered to be an inflection point for the economy due to weakening commodity prices and the end of the investment phase of the mining boom.

ABS data released on Wednesday showed the strongest wages growth was in education and training (3 per cent), finance and insurance services (2.7 per cent) and manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance (2.6 per cent).

The slowest wages growth was in professional, technical and scientific services (1.5 per cent), administration and support services (1.5 per cent) and construction (1.7 per cent).