Australia’s household income recession turns depression

Monday, 9 March 2020

The December quarter national accounts, released last week, was another depressing experience for Australian households.

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s real household disposable income (HDI) data, derived from the December quarter national accounts, real per capita HDI fell 1.0% over the quarter and is tracking 0.5% below its December 2011 peak:

Yes, you read that right. The typical Australian household has experienced zero real income growth in nine years.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.