The group - which included union representatives from a range of sectors such as retail, disability services and manufacturing - held signs protesting the lack of commitment from the federal government for a national wage increase amid what many are calling a cost of living crisis.

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One of those out at the rally was Launceston General Hospital switchboard operator Ben Hammersley, who has been feeling the financial pressure mount in recent months.

"We're burning through all our savings just on general, day-to-day living expenses. At the start of term, I had to send my daughter to school in her sports uniform for two weeks because I was waiting to get paid," he said.

Earlier this week, the issue of inflation and its impact on the prices of everyday expenses were once again flung into the centre of the 2022 federal election campaign, when Labor Leader Anthony Albanese backed calls for a wage increase to meet current inflation levels - estimated at around 5.1 per cent.

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Mr Albanese's statement arrived after the ACTU increased its Annual Wage Review claim from five per cent to 5.5 per cent to keep up with an expected further increase in inflation forecast for this year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus, who was alongside union rally members in Launceston on Wednesday, welcomed Mr Albanese's comments and lambasted the federal government's lack of similar support for the wage increase.

"It's appalling that Scott Morrison will not support that [a 5.5 per cent wage increase] [...] People are struggling and any government that doesn't understand that is widely out of touch," she said.

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With wage growth in Tasmania historically lacking behind the rest of the country even before the recent costs hike, secretary of Unions Tasmania Jessica Munday said she had been hearing accounts of those doing it tough around the state.

"Our wages are not keeping up [...] People are telling us that they are making choices between paying rent and putting food on the table - that's not something any government should be accepting," Ms Munday said.

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