Australian Unions welcome today’s news that jobs and wages are continuing to rise with a strong lift in both employment and pay for women.
New ABS data released today shows the gender pay gap is at a record low of 11.5 per cent, and that women’s participation in work is at a record high of 63.5 per cent. The July labour market outcomes showed strong jobs growth, including 60,000 new full-time jobs.
This reduction in unemployment is underpinning strong growth in wages for seven quarters in a row, as confirmed by yesterday’s Wage Price Index data. Wage growth of 3.4 per cent for the year to June is outstripping CPI, helping workers to catch up on lost income under the cost-of-living crisis.
The situation is even better for workers on collective agreements, winning real wage growth of 1.7 per cent for the year to June 2025, the highest real wage growth since June 2012, during the last year of the mining boom.
Workers are taking up rights to collectively bargain with their employers, and the reforms in workplace laws for better pay for undervalued sectors like aged care and early childhood education and care are now showing up in the data. The changes which were introduced to fix our broken equal pay laws, as well as a stronger right to request flexible working arrangements, are also delivering better pay and work from home arrangements.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President, Michele O’Neil:
“This new data shows the gender pay gap has been stubbornly high for decades but now it is finally coming down – thanks to the collective efforts of working people, their unions and reforms by the Federal Labor Government.
“The level of women in work is now also at its highest level ever, at 63.5 per cent.
“Collective bargaining delivers tangible results, in wages and conditions, as working people have always known. To see wages rising, especially for women, is proof that these reforms are working.”
