* Q2 wage growth 0.6 pct q/q, matching expectations
* Annual wage growth in Q2 2.1 pct, in-line with f'casts
* Consumer sentiment declines 2.3 pct in Aug to 103.6
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Australian wage growth edged up last quarter but stayed near record lows while a gauge of consumer sentiment deteriorated in August, auguring poorly for economy-wide spending and efforts to move inflation up into the central bank's target range.
The data released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the wage price index rose 0.6 percent in the three-months ended June from 0.5 percent in the previous quarter, and matched analyst's expectations.
Annual wage growth climbed 2.1 percent, in-line with forecasts, but only just above the all-time trough of 1.9 percent and barely ahead of consumer price inflation.
Wage growth has see-sawed between 1.9 and 2.1 percent since early 2016. Growth for the March quarter was also revised lower to show a gain of 2.0 percent from 2.1 percent.
Annual wage growth in the private sector rose 2.0 percent with not a single industry paying more than 2.7 percent. The strongest growth rates were in healthcare and education, with mining wages up just 1.3 percent - nowhere close to the rate enjoyed during the decade-long mining boom that began in the early 2000s.
Wage growth in the public sector was slightly better at 2.4 percent.
The miserly pace of wage growth is a major reason the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) does not see core inflation reaching the mid-point of its 2 to 3 percent target band during its forecast period ending mid-2020. It has already undershot the target for over two years.
Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said households' and firms' expectations were colored by five years of underpeformance in inflation.
"Lower expectations will make it that much more difficult to lift inflation back into the band," Evans said.
"Price expectations impact households' wage expectations and claims, while firms' pricing decisions are also influenced by expectations."
Separate data out on Wednesday showed the Melbourne Institute and Westpac Bank WBC.AX index of consumer sentiment fell 2.3 percent in August, versus July when it climbed 3.9 percent. were less upbeat on the outlook for jobs, expecting little change in the unemployment rate over the next year or so.
The RBA has held rates at a record low 1.50 percent since last easing in August 2016, the longest period of stable policy in modern history. Financial markets are wagering the steady spell could last well into 2019.