As wage stagnation and cost-of-living issues continue to feature in the federal election campaign, a new report shows Australia has experienced the greatest deceleration in real pay growth in the OECD since 2013, despite its relatively strong employment growth and low unemployment, suggesting that policy and institutional factors are the main culprit, rather than market forces.
Women are half as likely as men to engage in digital platform work and earn between 10% and 37% less when they do so, according to a Victorian Government-commissioned report that will inform State-based standards for the gig economy.
Private sector rates of pay excluding bonuses increased by 2.4% annually in the December quarter, unchanged from the September quarter, but accelerated slightly over the last three months of the year, according to the ABS.
Wage rises in private sector enterprise agreements remain marooned at 2.6%, while public sector increases have dropped back to recent trends, according to new Attorney-General's Department data that appears to confirm that the pandemic has accelerated the long-running decline in bargaining.
The ABS has delivered a small boost to hopes that wages growth might exceed restrained government projections after today's quarterly figures showed an annual lift of 1.5% across the economy.
Pay rises in private sector agreements approved in the June quarter reached 3% for the first time in 18 months, despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Attorney-General's Department data bedevilled by an inability to quantify increases for 76,000 workers.
Private sector pay rates excluding bonuses increased by 0.1% seasonally adjusted and 0.5% in original terms in the September quarter, according to the ABS.
A UK proposal to cap wages at £100,000 ($180,000) to finance low- and middle-income-earners' increases is not the best way to redistribute incomes and lift living standards, according to the Centre for Future Work, which says that targeting soaring corporate profits is "more powerful".
Today's Federal Government economic and fiscal update forecasts record low wages growth of 1.25% in 2020-21 due to the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Large numbers of retail employees covered by agreements approved in the second half of last year face wage freezes if employers succeed in their campaign for a coronavirus-driven pause in minimum pay rises such as that adopted during the GFC, new Attorney-General's Department data on bargained wage rises reveals.
