Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has today added a new reason to his long list of why employers are not lifting wages - the "laser-like focus on costs" that has become the "predominant mindset" of many businesses.
The RBA has slightly raised its wage growth forecast, noting that it will almost entirely be driven by the private sector as public sector wage caps remain in effect.
The Labor Opposition has seized on a warning by Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe that the JobKeeper wage subsidy should not be phased out too soon, insisting it identifies the dangers of the government's "snap back" strategy.
Workers' wages will continue to grow at about 2.2%, similar to the current WPI, partly because the forthcoming 0.5 percentage point rise in compulsory super payments will be mostly funded by forgone pay rises, according to the RBA.
The RBA has projected that the current pattern of "unusually" slow wage growth will likely continue until at least 2021, Governor Philip Lowe reminding a parliamentary committee that any pick-up was "both affordable and desirable".
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has told a House of Representatives committee that the RBA is doing what it can to respond to slow wage growth, admitting his stance has been controversial, but has again stopped short of calling for a quick upswing.
The Reserve Bank has pointed to the concentration of cutting-edge software and information technology in a small number of businesses and narrow labour market segments as a factor behind flat wages growth.
