The early COVID-19 pandemic was a disaster for Australian workers, but a boon for companies.
Forced economic shutdowns caused many Australians to lose their jobs or have their hours reduced, which temporarily sent the nation’s wage bill into decline. By contrast, company profits boomed on the back of generous subsidies such as JobKeeper and the business cashflow boost.
The upshot was that the wages share of national income plunged to a record low 49% in the September quarter, as reported in the national accounts:
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