For many Australians, the last five years have felt like running on a treadmill — working just as hard, but not getting any further ahead. Wages have risen on paper, but the weekly shop, the rent, and the mortgage repayments have eaten through those gains faster than most people expected. This is the story of that squeeze, told through five data snapshots.
Since December 2019, both prices and wages have risen sharply. For most of the period wages fell behind — but by early 2026 they had just edged ahead. The shaded area shows when and by how much prices outpaced wages. Use the buttons above to zoom into any period.
Inflation is not one national number — it hits different postcodes at different intensities. The shaded ribbon shows the spread between cities at any point in time. Use the dropdown below the chart to isolate any single city and compare its trajectory more closely.
A nurse and a mining engineer both live through the same inflation. But their pay trajectories have been very different. The labels at the right edge show where each sector stands today. Hover to trace any industry’s full journey since 2019.
The RBA raised rates 13 times between May 2022 and November 2023, slashed them three times in 2025, then hiked again three more times in early 2026 — returning to the peak. This chart maps that turbulent journey against the real wage gap it left behind. Hover to see both values at any point.
As of the latest data, every industry is still underwater — no sector has fully outrun inflation since 2019. The bars show how far behind each sector’s wages are relative to the rise in prices. The ring on each bar shows the relative workforce size — bigger ring means more workers affected. Hover for full details.
Pitch note: The story shows that Australia’s cost-of-living squeeze is not over — and the RBA’s 2026 rate hikes have pushed the pain back up. While aggregate wages have just edged ahead of prices nationally, no individual industry has fully recovered its real wage position since 2019. Workers in IT & media, finance, public administration, and accommodation and food services remain the most exposed. This five-chart format is designed to be accessible to a general Conversation audience with no economics background.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Consumer Price Index, Australia (Cat. No. 6401.0). ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Wage Price Index, Australia (Cat. No. 6345.0). ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/wage-price-index-australia
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (Cat. No. 6291.0). ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed
Reserve Bank of Australia. (2026). Cash rate target — historical data. RBA. https://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/cash-rate/
Generative AI (Anthropic Claude) was used to assist with code structure, narrative framing, and iterative revisions during the preparation of this assignment. All data, analytical decisions, and final design choices were made by the author. AI use is acknowledged in accordance with RMIT Library guidelines.