Earn
Labour shortages fail to lift wages
Despite the business community’s hunger for new workers, Australia’s wage growth remains stagnant, official figures have revealed.
Labour shortages fail to lift wages
Despite the business community’s hunger for new workers, Australia’s wage growth remains stagnant, official figures have revealed.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the seasonally adjusted wage price index (WPI) rose by 0.4 per cent in the June quarter.
Australia’s growth rate for the 2020-21 financial year now sits at 1.7 per cent.
ABS head of price statistics Michelle Marquardt said the rate of growth over the quarter was one of the lowest recorded in the series.
“The June quarter saw the rate of growth in hourly earnings ease to 0.4 per cent, following two quarters of 0.6 per cent wage growth,” she said.
Compared with June quarter 2020, private sector hourly wage rates rose 1.9 per cent in the comparable period.
The impacts of low wages were also felt on the public sector, which recorded growth of only 1.3 per cent for the year, which is the lowest annual growth rate since the ABS began tracking the data in 1997.
Workers are going backwards
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was quick to point out that Australians have actually gone backwards, urging the government to do more to support Aussie workers.
ACTU highlighted that in real terms, wages actually dropped 2.1 per cent over the last 12 months.
They also noted that while the WPI added 0.4 per cent in the June quarter, inflation increased to 3.8 per cent, meaning the cost of goods increased while wages did not.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil said Australians don’t deserve to be priced out of basic essentials like housing and food.
“We’re seeing low job security, an increasingly casualised workforce, and falling real wages. These figures show that at the very time when workers need security and confidence, they have a government with no plan to provide either,” Ms O’Neil said.
Skill shortages remain
While wages continue to stagnate, Australia still faces skill shortages.
Preliminary results for the National Skills Commission’s Internet Vacancy Index (IVI), released in July, show online job advertisements fell a further 3 per cent (7,200 jobs) in July 2021 to stand at 232,600.
The IVI has now recorded two consecutive months of declining recruitment activity after job advertisements reached a 12-year high in May 2021.
Despite this, wages are not moving, Ms Marquardt pointed out.
“Apart from a few isolated examples of skills shortages placing pressure on employers to meet expected market rates, the private sector wage growth recorded over the quarter (0.5 per cent) was generally subdued,” she concluded.
RELATED ARTICLES
About the author
About the author
Salary
The financial benefits of a diversified income stream
In today’s volatile economic environment, relying solely on a single source of income can be risky. Diversifying your income streams can provide financial stability, reduce the risk of financial ...Read more
Salary
Despite losing top spot, Elon Musk rakes in $400,000 hourly
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur known for his involvement in a wide range of innovative and technological businesses, has recently been dethroned as the wealthiest individual in the world, with Bernard ...Read more
Salary
Rising unemployment and skill shortages prompt Australian businesses to look globally for talent
Australia has witnessed its unemployment rate surging above 4% for the first time in two years, revealed by the latest Labour Force data. Read more
Salary
New findings link job mobility hurdles to stagnant wage growth
Recent research from the e61 Institute has unearthed significant links between slow wage growth in Australia and obstacles to job mobility, including non-compete clauses, complicated occupational ...Read more
Salary
Employers scrambling to prevent workplace brain drain
As workplace managers face a swiftly evolving employment market that’s increasingly favouring the demands of white-collar employees and jobseekers, bosses are falling under mounting pressure to ...Read more
Salary
Unions back Albanese’s pledge to close gender pay gap
An electoral promise from Labor to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act has been hailed as a “watershed moment” from industry peak bodies who have traditionally advocated for ...Read more
Salary
Coles asked to disprove $115m in alleged wage theft
One of Australia’s biggest supermarkets faces allegations that it underpaid more than 7,500 employees a total of $115 million. Read more
Salary
Gen Z left behind in progress to gender equality
Women under 25 may emerge from the pandemic in a worse financial position than when it began, new research has shown. Read more
Salary
The financial benefits of a diversified income stream
In today’s volatile economic environment, relying solely on a single source of income can be risky. Diversifying your income streams can provide financial stability, reduce the risk of financial ...Read more
Salary
Despite losing top spot, Elon Musk rakes in $400,000 hourly
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur known for his involvement in a wide range of innovative and technological businesses, has recently been dethroned as the wealthiest individual in the world, with Bernard ...Read more
Salary
Rising unemployment and skill shortages prompt Australian businesses to look globally for talent
Australia has witnessed its unemployment rate surging above 4% for the first time in two years, revealed by the latest Labour Force data. Read more
Salary
New findings link job mobility hurdles to stagnant wage growth
Recent research from the e61 Institute has unearthed significant links between slow wage growth in Australia and obstacles to job mobility, including non-compete clauses, complicated occupational ...Read more
Salary
Employers scrambling to prevent workplace brain drain
As workplace managers face a swiftly evolving employment market that’s increasingly favouring the demands of white-collar employees and jobseekers, bosses are falling under mounting pressure to ...Read more
Salary
Unions back Albanese’s pledge to close gender pay gap
An electoral promise from Labor to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act has been hailed as a “watershed moment” from industry peak bodies who have traditionally advocated for ...Read more
Salary
Coles asked to disprove $115m in alleged wage theft
One of Australia’s biggest supermarkets faces allegations that it underpaid more than 7,500 employees a total of $115 million. Read more
Salary
Gen Z left behind in progress to gender equality
Women under 25 may emerge from the pandemic in a worse financial position than when it began, new research has shown. Read more
