Wages page 9 of 12

Real unit labour costs fell sharply in the year to March, while productivity spiked in the private sector, according to ABS data released today.

The Fair Work Commission today conceded that inflated concerns about the impact of minimum wage increases on employment may have led to it being "overly cautious" in past rulings.

As the FWC minimum wage panel draws closer to a determination in its annual review, a discussion paper based on surveys of more than 700,000 "lesser skilled" Americans has questioned whether policymakers need to consider mechanisms other than minimum pay rates as a means of improving health outcomes for low-paid workers.

Average pay rises in private sector agreements struck in last year's December quarter returned to the recent trend of about 3% a year, according to new Department of Employment data.

The RBA has conceded its forecasts for wage growth have been "consistently too strong" for at least the past five years, but says there is limited evidence that the low rises are due to workers’ declining bargaining power.

Labour costs fell substantially in 2016 and productivity improved significantly, according to ABS national accounts data released today.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe today used a House committee public hearing to restate his view that Australia's recent record of negligable wage growth may be nearing an end, suggesting that an improving local outlook amid a rebounding global economy would see increased pressure on employers to share the proceeds.

Private sector enterprise agreements approved in the September quarter paid an average wage rise of 3.4% a year, after construction deals providing substantial annual increases helped to lifted bargained wage deals out of the doldrums, new Department of Employment data reveals.

A reduction in size and frequency of pay rises explains the recent historically-low growth in wage rates, according to new RBA research conducted in collaboration with the ABS.

Responsibility for gender equity strategies should be partially devolved from centralised HR departments to line managers, and training to combat "unconscious bias" in selection processes should be mandated for supervisors and managers, according to a new report on barriers to women's career advancement in higher education.