Australian Economy

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose by 0.9% as the floods in southern Qld and northern NSW receded.

More good news on the jobs front today with the ANZ job ads series hitting a new pandemic high after lifting 8.4% in February: ANZ Job Ads rebounded by a strong 8.4% m/m to a new pandemic high in February as the Omicron wave continued to recede, alleviating disruptions to workers and businesses.

In my second Macro Breakdown, I discuss immigration’s impact on Australian house prices. This follows Dr Shane Oliver’s recent comments that Australia’s “massively increased” immigration intake in the 2000s is a key reason why Australian house prices have risen more strongly (and are more unaffordable) than most other nations.

We’re back!

Last month, several Australian economists tried to argue that Australia’s plummeting jobless rate has been driven by stimulus and has little to do with the closure of Australia’s international border to immigration. Their arguments were ruthlessly destroyed by me and others (here, here here).

On Wednesday, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Aff​airs, Alex Hawke, announced that it would extend Eligible Skilled-Recognised Graduate (Subclass 476) visas for 24 months: This visa allows recent engineering graduates to live, work or study in Australia.

Australia’s largest aged car body, Catholic Health Australia (CHA), wants the federal government to impose a moratorium on a condition that requires it to advertise jobs locally before it looks for staff overseas.

Australian new car sales rose 1.6% year-on-year in February on the back of easing supply disruptions, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).

Please find below the first in what I hope will become a daily video series delving into economic / policy issues impacting Australians.

Top 7 tips to choose the best personal injury lawyer Finding a personal injury lawyer for the first time can be complicated, and even stressful.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that dwelling approvals plunged 27.9% in January to be down 24.1% year-on-year.

Terry McCrann makes the salient point today in the Herald-Sun that “Australia’s per capita GDP growth during Covid when the borders were shut was double that of the previous two years, when immigration was running at 250,000 a year”.

Yesterday’s national accounts for the December quarter showed that Australian households are still bulging with savings.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released its Index of Commodity Prices for the month of February.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released the national accounts for the December quarter, which registered a 3.4% rise in real GDP over the quarter and a 4.2% increase through the year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the country’s national accounts for the December quarter, with real GDP rising 3.4% over the quarter to be 4.2% higher year-on-year: On a per capita basis, real GDP rose by 3.1% over the quarter to be up 4.0% over the year.