Australian wages have been in a period of low wage growth for more than a decade. Annual nominal wage growth sat at above or around 3 per cent from the inception of the Wage Price Index in 1997 to 2013.

It took 19 years after the Wage Price Index was established in 1997 before nominal wage growth fell below 2 per cent. Since then, nominal wage growth has averaged just 2.3 per cent.

Key findings:

• The average real wage in Australia is lower today than at any point since September 2011
• Some occupations, including nurses and correctional officers, have lost almost $3,000 in real wages compared to a decade ago. Even teachers, who have experienced a small real wage increase, have seen wages rise by just 0.6% in a decade
• Queensland has suffered the greatest real wage decline in Australia at 2.5%
• Australia’s two largest states were on par with average real wages in 2012. They have since fallen in NSW, while Victoria has among the highest in the country