July 18, 2026 — 5:30amIf you feel like you’re well overdue for a pay rise, you’re not the only one. Months of inflationary pressures are making it hard for salaries to keep up with the cost of everyday life.The Consumer Price Index rose 4 per cent in the 12 months to May, bringing with it growing costs to keep a roof over our head, drive a car and get groceries for the week.Founder of promotional merchandise firm Cubic Promote Charles Liu says pay rises still need to be linked to performance.Not surprisingly, salary satisfaction is slipping, with half of workers believing they are underpaid despite admitting they have received a pay rise, according to recruitment agency Hays.While many professionals have received pay rises over the past year, wage growth is failing to keep pace with employee expectations and cost of living pressures, the Hays Salary Guide found. One good sign was that minimum wage workers recently had an ever-so-slight pay increase.The Fair Work Commission increased the national minimum wage to $26.44 per hour (up from $24.95) and $1004.90 (up from $948) based on a full-time week, declaring that low paid workers needed a pay rise.While economists say the decision to pay an extra $1.49 an hour will not have any material impact on inflationary pressures, the increase is slightly higher than the Consumer Price Index, providing modest relief from the cost of living.‘Most businesses still want to reward good people and retain talent.’Cubic Promote founder Charles LiuHowever, the national minimum wage covers a small proportion of the workforce overall, accounting for 2.8 million workers.It’s difficult to say whether that will trickle through to everyone else. Many workers just hope that the boss will issue a pay rise soon. That extra cash every week would give us the ability to alleviate some of the financial pressures of everyday life.Founder of promotional merchandise firm Cubic Promote Charles Liu awarded his 30 employees a 5 per cent pay rise over the past year, but he admits he’s looking for evidence that they are deserved. He believes the widening gap between top performers and average performers will continue to grow.“The conversations have been much more closely linked to measurable contribution, revenue impact, leadership and productivity improvements than they were a few years ago,” Liu says.“Businesses will continue investing in people who drive growth, but broad-based wage growth may remain difficult until business confidence improves significantly.”Wages rose a modest 0.8 per cent rise in the March 2026 quarter and 3.3 per cent annually, but that was gobbled up by inflation, leaving our “real” wage growth still in the negative.Across the nation, earnings averages vary by around $200 per week depending on the state, with average weekly earnings nationally at $1611, which doesn’t stretch very far in this economy.HR expert Deepak Singh says the movement of minimum wages and award-covered employees is largely protected by law. “The issue is, many employers are treating this as a compliance update, not part of a broader wage strategy,” he says.“Many employers are adjusting the floor because they have to, but many haven’t properly planned what this means for wage compression, internal equity or their own pay growth story.”For those on above-award rates, especially in the mid to higher salary bands, Singh expects less change from the pattern already out there.As businesses invest in tools that can automate reporting, administration, analysis and repetitive tasks, there’s growing pressure to ensure compensation growth is accompanied by productivity growth.“Most businesses still want to reward good people and retain talent. The challenge is that wage increases are now being weighed against profitability, operating costs and economic uncertainty much more carefully than before,” Liu says.Of course, you could make the first move and approach the boss to ask for a pay rise. Just don’t mention rising costs as a reason you deserve a raise.Recruiters suggest firstly understanding what parameters your workplace uses to give a pay rise, and to frame your cash request around business impact, not effort.Get workplace news, advice and perspectives to help make your job work for you. Sign up for our weekly Thank God it’s Monday newsletter.From our partners