If Aussie wages don’t rise now, the system is busted

Monday 18 July 2022

Last week’s stunning ABS labour force statistics for June showed that Australia’s labour underutilisation rate – i.e. the unemployment and underemployment rate combined – has fallen to a 40-year low of just 9.6%:

The lowest underutilisation rate since 1982.

Historically, the underutilisation rate has been negatively correlated with wage growth. So when the underutilisation rate falls, wage growth rises.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.