Real wages in Australia have tanked – and it can’t be hidden by the Coalition’s feeble scare campaigns

‘Given this is likely the last wages data before a May election, it is a very poor showing for the Morrison government.’ Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

On Wednesday, the bureau of statistics revealed that real wages in 2021 completely tanked. In what will likely be the last release of such data before the federal election, the wages price index for all employees in 2021 rose just 2.3%, well below the 3.5% increase in inflation.

Just a couple of weeks ago the Australian reported business were warning that a “wages rush ‘risks jump in inflation’”.