Another week and more bad news for the labour market deregulationistas.

When last we checked in with them, industrial disputation and strong employment growth seemed to have undermined the case for labour market reform, on top of the stubborn refusal of wages to “break out” despite employment levels returning to near-full employment

But the lack of evidence hasn’t stopped them from continuing to demand greater workplace “flexibility” (you know the sort of flexibility they mean — greater flexibility downwards in wages and conditions, not greater flexibility upwards). Indeed, the continuation of employment growth has made the calls for something to be done about workers even shriller. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry continues to demand “legislative reform which will permit greater flexibility and efficiency in the operation of enterprises”. The Australian Industry Group wants labour market reform to improve the “competitiveness and the efficiency of an economy”. Liberal veteran Peter Reith joined the fray in February, giving The Oz an “exclusive” calling for more reform; three weeks earlier, The Oz in one of its constipated editorials demanded more labour reform. Reith also raises the issue on Twitter.

And, needless to say, rarely does an edition of the Financial Review goes by without carrying some warning about the imminent threat of a wages blowout.

Sadly, we had not one but two lots of wages data this week. On Wednesday we had the quarterly Labour Price Index, that showed wages growing at the same rate as the February quarter — indeed, the same rate as right back to the March quarter of 2010. There’s no evidence of an acceleration in wages from that series. Unusually, the latest quarter’s figures showed public sector wage growth slightly below private sector growth. The Financial Review covered the data on page 11, while the front page headline was “Wage claims to swamp business”, over yet another story of trade unions “ramping up wage claims”.

Yesterday we had Average Weekly Earnings Data that showed total earnings growing by about the same rate as the past 12 months — although, strictly speaking, it was actually the lowest quarterly growth in earnings in percentage terms since the series began in 1990s, by a narrow margin ahead of the December quarter.

Cast your mind back two years to when then deputy PM Julia Gillard secured passage of her Fair Work legislation through the Senate. The Coalition were shrill in warnings that the new system would destroy jobs. “The test will be how many jobs it destroys,” declared then-opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull. The usual suspects in the commentariat joined in. Michael Stutchbury said it was “economic madness” because it “damages the competitive flexibility of business”. The jobless rate will rise to at least 7%, Stutchbury warned. The Fair Work laws would “dull Australian business’s competitive edge for years to come. That will hardly be fair for working families or those thrown out of work.”

Two years on, and so far the numbers speak for themselves.