> So, if a company is hiring for a new role they they are not yet paying anyone for, they cannot offer more than 1.15x the government average? They can: The go

> So, if a company is hiring for a new role they they are not yet paying anyone for, they cannot offer more than 1.15x the government average? They can: The government average is just the starting point for salary negotiations for the worker - It gives them a leg up on what the industry pays on average. There's also a hidden information advantage for the employee: If the company in question advertises that average, and the say that it's a new position, then the worst that they can offer is around the industry average, with higher salaries up for grabs. The "Expect" is doing a lot of heavy lifting, as it says "There's probably an 80% chance you're getting a salary within this range.", with new positions advertising as "This is a new position, so there's a higher chance of getting a good salary here." Not all permutations of meta-analyses can be avoided, but the scope of what's allowed can be trimmed down to the point where it's possible for an applicant to guess what the company wants in terms of salary expectations.