For the third consecutive quarter, the share of Australian GDP paid out in wages, salaries and superannuation contributions to workers has shrunk. Data for the September quarter of 2018 shows that labour compensation accounted for just 46.85% of total economic output – one of the lowest on record.
“A decline in the labour share of GDP indicates that workers’ wages and salaries are not keeping up with the growth of Australia’s economy,” explained Dr. Jim Stanford, Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work.
The labour share of GDP is now on track to set a new record low for 2018, below even last year’s average of 47.1% – the lowest annual average labour share recorded since the ABS began gathering modern GDP statistics in 1958. Corporate operating surpluses expanded by another 7.1% in the year to September, reaching their highest share of GDP (25.22%) since March 2012.
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Exploring the Decline in the Labour Share of GDP