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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Peter Hannam

Australia’s jobless rate is only 3.4% – so what’s holding wage growth back?

Barista Elinor Hedger at a cafe in Brisbane, 14 July, 2022.
Barista Elinor Hedger at a cafe in Brisbane, 14 July, 2022. ‘Real earnings are falling dramatically,’ says economist Jim Stanford. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Workers desperate for a pay rise anywhere close to the rate of inflation won’t take much solace from the flurry of labour market figures released this week.

On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported another disappointing increase in the wage price index with the June quarter rise of 2.6% lagging consumer price gains of 6.1% by a record amount.

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