Economists at one of Australia’s big four banks have held out hope to millions of Australian workers that their first decent pay rise in years could be just around the corner.

But the ANZ analysts concede that a record level of job vacancies as bosses struggle to hire has done little or nothing to get wages growth moving again this year, and economists at a leading progressive think tank are sceptical that the seven-year run of low or no wage growth is coming to an end.

The bank believes that Australians are feeling confident again, though, with rising numbers of workers who like their chances of landing a new job in 2022 as the two biggest labour markets, Sydney and Melbourne, recover from their COVID lockdowns.

Respondents to the bank’s surveys are saying their expectations of both a healthy job market and an uptick in wages were growing, suggesting that large numbers of workers could be preparing to clear their desks in the coming months.

ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch points, in a briefing note published on Friday, to the “great resignation” in the US – where more than 4 million workers quit their jobs in August – as wages growth in that country pushed towards 3 per cent.

Ms Birch pointed to rising wages in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the European Union, citing global research from consulting giant Oliver Wyman Forum that found the most common reason workers were leaving their jobs was the chase for higher wages.

Australian employers are certainly feeling the pressure, with even the Reserve Bank of Australia this week revealing it was having trouble keeping its brightest public servants from being poached by private sector outfits dangling big pay rises.