Australians remain trapped in the ‘recession zone’

Sunday 31 August 2025

Australians have been trapped in a long, drawn-out per capita recession.

As the following chart illustrates, Australia’s per capita GDP has recorded nine declines in the past 11 quarters.

While the cumulative 1.7% decline in real per capita GDP is rather shallow compared to the early-1980s and 1990s recessions, it is the longest-running slump in modern records, dating back to the 1970s:

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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.