Struggling Australians could be out of the woods within the next year, with CommBank saying the cost-of-living crisis could ease sooner than expected.The major bank released its July Wage and Labour Insight report on Friday, including statistics that show there is light at the end of the tunnel for many Australians. Australia’s annual wage growth increased to 3.2 per cent, signifying a “fairly resilient” jobs market. CommBank economist Harry Ottley said “generally speaking, people who are looking for a job should be able to find it relatively easy” now. “It still remains the case that there’s lots of labour shortages around different industries in different parts of the country,” he said.Inflation sits at 3.8 per cent, outside the RBA’s target of 2 to 3 per cent. Mr Ottley said “if the economy evolves, as (CommBank) expects it to and there’s no more interest rate increases from here, and inflation continues to come down, then, you know, 2027 and 2028 might be a little bit of a better time for the economy”. On Thursday, the ABS revealed growth in average weekly earnings for full-time adults for the six months to May 2026 was 1.6 per cent, signifying the lowest six-monthly increase since May 2022.With wage growth settling in lower than inflation, Mr Ottley acknowledged the discrepancy might leave people wanting a pay rise. “It’s fair and it’s definitely one of the consequences of the high inflation and wages growth growing a little below,” he said. “It certainly means that people’s real incomes are not growing as quickly as they were.“It probably does mean that for the time being and through the rest of this year, cost-of-living pressure will be a little bit more elevated again.“There is a little bit of a squeeze on at the moment, but it should improve if the economy evolves as we expect it to.”The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent in August after three rate hikes earlier in 2026.The widely predicted move was described as “hawkish”, with the RBA warning it won’t hesitate to hike rates again if needed.In a statement, the board said the impact of the US-Iran war on inflation had been less than expected, although headline inflation remained too high.Mr Ottley said the wage growth figures were a “good sign” for the RBA.“The fact we’re not seeing any sort of increase in wages is actually a good thing for the cash rate and gives the RBA probably a little bit of comfort,” he said. Mr Ottley said the bank predicted no further rate hikes this year. For Australians struggling against increasingly expensive mortgage repayments and the rise of everyday costs, relief could be around the corner. CommBank’s insight report also suggested employment increased by about 21,000 jobs nationwide in July, which Mr Ottley described as “a solid outcome”. “The amount of jobs being created, according to our data, is sort of close to that level – the break even level – where it’ll stop the unemployment rate from rising,” he said.The labour market is in a “much more balanced position”, meaning businesses are likely “finding it a little bit easier to find the right staff and they’re not having to search as long or provide as large wage gains to try and find staff”. “Overall, it would imply that the labour market’s a little bit more balanced, and that sort of demands supply between businesses and people looking for jobs is a little bit more balanced than it was,” Mr Ottley said.