Australian Chamber of Commerce: Can’t let wages chase soaring inflation

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Andrew McKellar, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned against psuhing for wage growth to beat the current levels of inflation.

Key quotes

Wages are “going to increase with that market pressure. We can’t afford to chase after the inflation numbers that we are seeing at the moment.”

“That would be a big mistake.”

“The No.1 issue facing Australian firms at the moment is labor and skills shortages. We need solutions and we need them quickly.” 

“We are in an intense competition for skilled labor.”

“We have to reduce the red-tape, we have to make it much easier to access those skilled migrants and encourage them to come to Australia. That’s the only way we are going to maintain our position.”

Market reaction

At the time of writing, AUD/USD is losing 0.33% on the day to trade at 0.6880, having failed to find acceptance once again above 0.6900.