Household disposable income tanks as stimulus unwound

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According to Deloitte, $24.2 billion of fiscal stimulus was withdrawn from the Australian economy in the second half of 2020 as JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments were tapered down, alongside the reduction of early superannuation withdrawals (see next chart).

$24.2 billion worth of fiscal stimulus was withdrawn from the Australian economy as early superannuation release, JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments were tapered down.

Accordingly, Wednesday’s ABS national accounts release for the December quarter reported a sharp decline in household disposable income (HDI), which fell 3.9% in real per capita terms (see next chart).

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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.