RBA: Australians face low wage future

Friday 17 October 2025

Australians have endured the biggest decline in real wages in history.

As of the June quarter of 2025, Australian real wages were still tracking 6.0% below their June 2020 level, at roughly the same level as December 2011.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) Assistant governor and chief economist Sarah Hunter warned that Australia’s sagging recent labour productivity growth, which is among the worst in the advanced world, would crimp wage growth in the future.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

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.