The Albanese government has seized on new research showing workers bound by non-compete clauses are paid 4 per cent less on average than staff who can switch jobs easier, as it considers a crackdown on the employment restrictions.

Wage suppression was worse among lower skilled workers bound by non-compete clauses, who earned about 10 per cent less after five years, despite starting on a similar wage earlier in their career to those not limited in this way, according to the analysis from the non-partisan e61 think tank.