One theme documents the parallel US and Australian histories of real wages, employment and unemployment since 1950 and notes the break in relativities in the mid 1970s which began with a 30 per cent Australian real wage increase relative to the US. Since then Australian real wages have remained constant, unemployment increased fourfold and the male full‐time employment‐population ratio fallen 25 per cent The other theme relates to the widening dispersion of male real wages, the large job loss from the middle of the earnings distribution and rapid employment growth at low earn