While the outcry continues to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent decision to lift official interest rates to 4.75%, the central bank made this move before the latest national wage figures were released.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Wage Price Index revealed that private sector wages were up 3.5% year-on-year for the recent September quarter and up 1.5% from the previous three months.

But the September figures were also impacted by Fair Work Australia’s July decision to lift the minimum wage by 4.8%.

Interpreting the impacts, Goldman Sachs noted the ABS had made seasonal adjustments and said the data suggested an underlying trend of wage pressure which was “actually a little stronger than we expected”

Using its own research estimates based on the ABS data, the investment bank’s local economic team estimated that annual mining sector wages were up 4.7% year-on-year for the September quarter.

On average wage growth across all industries between the various states, Goldman forecast that Queensland salaries were up 3.9% year-on-year during the September quarter, followed by WA at 3.8%, New South Wales at 3.5% and Victoria at 2.5%.

Raising funds through the market will continue to prove popular next year as further interest rate hikes appear more likely.

Goldman forecast 0.75% of official interest rate increases from the RBA in 2011 as it tries to restrict inflation.

“The prospect of wage growth nearing 4 per cent highlights the upside inflation risks that continue to build in Australia as above trend growth and a terms of trade shock further stretch an economy that is already near capacity,” the company said in a report.