The lockdown of Sydney’s northern beaches because of a COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have resulted in 34 million fewer hours being worked in December, according to modelling by KPMG.
KPMG estimates this reduction in working hours would have inflicted a $3.2 billion hit to the economy, and would have reduced Treasury’s forecast that the Australian economy would grow by 3.2% over the three months to December by 0.7%.
The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) has separately predicted that Australians would spend $2.6 billion between Christmas Eve and 11 January, compared to an annual average of $5.5 billion in previous years, with the TTF representing large Australian hotel and travel businesses.
