with
TONY BURKE MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ARTS
MANAGER OF OPPOSITION BUSINESS
MEMBER FOR WATSON
and
BRENDAN O’CONNOR
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY 
MEMBER FOR GORTON

New ABS data released today has revealed that annual wages growth has reached new record lows, following years of wage stagnation under the Liberals.
 
Wages growth was bad before this crisis and it’s even weaker now.
 
Australia entered this recession from a position of weakness, not strength, with the Liberals and Nationals already presiding over the worst wages growth on record.
 
Today’s release of the ABS Wage Price Index show that wages barely grew in the September quarter with annual wages growth slowing to 1.4 per cent.
 
This confirms that quarterly and annual wages growth are both now at the lowest level in the history of the ABS Wage Price Index.
 
This update follows a warning from the Reserve Bank this week that subdued wages are expected to be a feature of the economy over coming years.
 
Stagnant wages growth, weak economic growth, record household debt, and record high underemployment were major economic challenges before the virus and are expected to hamper the recovery.
 
Australians need a proper plan to get the place moving again, to drive down unemployment, and pull wages out of their years-long slump to set Australia up for a broad, inclusive recovery that doesn’t leave more Australians out and more Australians behind.  
 
WEDNESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2020