Ten million Australians working in the private sector are getting pay rises that are neck-and-neck with inflation, while the pay packets of professionals, miners and retail workers are going backwards compared to the cost of living.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday show sluggish wage growth continues to frustrate the Reserve Bank, the Turnbull government and millions of employees.

The Coalition and Labor will go head-to-head over finding a solution to the country's intractable wage growth problem this year, with the government focused on legislating company tax cuts so businesses can pass savings onto workers, and Labor determined to stop them because it does not believe they will follow through.

Private sector wages grew by 1.9 per cent in the year to December, the same rate as the rise in the cost of a consumer basket.