Australia Q1 wages up 0.8 percent to a record A$135.5 billion

Australian firms paid out a recordA$135.5 billion ($103 billion) in wages and salaries in the March quarter, representing a 0.8 percent rise quarter-on-quarter and 5 percent rise year-on-year, the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. 

Meanwhile, gross company profits surged 5.9 percent, above analyst forecasts of a 3 percent rise. 

The pick up in wages is likely to be welcomed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) members who have long expressed concerned about anemic wage growth and benign inflation.