Data collected by HR software provider Employment Hero data found wages increased 8.4 per cent in the 12 months to October – representing a lift in real wages, with headline inflation 7.3 per cent in the September quarter.

That is despite the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s wage price index, released last week, revealing a smaller 3.1 per cent lift for the September quarter.

Employment Hero co-founder Ben Thompson said the results should be viewed in the context of the Labor government’s industrial relations bill, which is intended to boost wages.

The government’s workplace bill includes expanded multi-employer bargaining rights, which has become a point of concern for the business community.

“In a nutshell, our data shows employers and employees have already adjusted salaries without needing third-party intervention,” Thompson said.

He said the index, which relies on data from 135,000 small and medium-sized businesses, provides a fairly up-to-date snapshot of wage growth compared to the backwards-looking quarterly indicator provided by the ABS.

It also captures the full amount landing in bank accounts, inclusive of bonuses and allowances, which Mr Thompson said the bureau’s gauge does not necessarily include.

“The simple reality is that wages are moving,” he said.

The monthly index also found the number of SME-employed workers grew 8.2 per cent in the past year.

ANZ and Roy Morgan will also today release the weekly consumer confidence survey.

Last week, sentiment ticked up for the first time in six weeks.

And Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe is due to speak at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia dinner in Melbourne today.

His speech will be scanned for any changes in the central bank’s messaging that might indicate the trajectory for interest rate decisions.