Australian economy is stuck in the low-growth zone

On Tuesday, I reported on the following chart from Alex Joiner at IFM Investors showing how real non-mining sales of goods and services in Australia have grown by 51% since 2002. However, when adjusted for population growth, real sales have remained flat, growing by just 2% since 2002:

The chart highlighted how the Australian economy has become highly reliant on high immigration to drive growth.

Meanwhile, labour productivity and per capita growth have collapsed alongside the surge in immigration:

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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.