Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirms the seasonally-adjusted wage price index, or WPI, rose by 0.7% as of the June quarter, for the third consecutive quarter. The professional services segment, which includes accounting professionals, saw wages rise by 2.9%. This is one of the highest increases in wage growth, behind that of workers in the real estate, rental, construction, and manufacturing sectors.
The private sector outperformed the public sector during the June quarter with wages rising by 0.7% compared to the public sector’s 0.6%. This is at par with annual figures whereby the private sector wages grew by 2.7% compared to the public sector wages that rose 2.4%.
However, despite this positive growth, wages still lag far behind rising inflation which grew by 6.1%. This means that real wages have actually fallen by 3.5% over the past year, making it the lowest level since 2011.
Due to rising costs, workers have now begun to give more consideration to money. A survey conducted by recruitment firm Robert Half found that though workplace flexibility was a priority for workers during the pandemic, remuneration had grown to be a key concern as it was beginning to affect work-life balance.
As more employers begin to experience a high turnover of employees, some are making moves to increase their salary budgets by an average of 20% and deliver raises to a part of their workforce. The survey found that as much as 78% of employees were prepared to search for new jobs if they did not receive a pay rise this year.
Eight out of 10 employers were aware of this with 96% ready to grant increases. Of these employers, 63% plan to grant raises to those that asked for them, while 33% would give raises regardless. Just 44% of employees confirmed that they intended to ask for a raise by the end of the year.
Senior managing director of Robert Half, David Jones, noted that the research found that fewer employees were willing to raise salary issues with their employer than there were employers willing to grant a raise. He highlighted the importance of clear communication in addressing salary issues, work-life balance, and career progression to ensure a transparent and satisfactory working relationship was sustained. He said this would reduce pressure on employers trying to reward employees in terms of money alone, and make for more satisfied and engaged employees. Jones added that workers were aware of their bargaining power and that managers needed to regularly engage in conversations with employees to understand their concerns.
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