Australian Economy

By Leith van Onselen Another week, another #SardineSydney story in the mainstream media on how the city’s population is swelling way above the capacity of its infrastructure.

Yes, it’s here: The Guardian is upset: The new Holden Commodore – the first to be made overseas – is a “missed opportunity” to launch a high-profile electric or hybrid car in Australia, according to pro-renewables groups.

By Leith van Onselen When discussing wages growth, economists tend to focus on the wage price index (WPI), which measures wage pressures across the various industries (i.e. the price of doing a particular job).

UBS wraps it up nicely: Government flags household tax cuts are likely As we highlighted in the MYEFO, a cumulative $9bn (or ½% of GDP) better than expected budget (Figure 3) provides some room for household tax cuts.

CBA senior economist, Gareth Aird: The RBA has left both its growth and inflation forecasts unchanged.

Consumer booming!

By Leith van Onselen Australia’s official unemployment rate is currently 5.5%, which Jeff Borland from the University of Melbourne claims is higher than the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU).

By Leith van Onselen Late last year, Treasurer Scott Morrison bemoaned Australia’s anaemic wages growth and practically begged companies to pay their workers more: Treasurer Scott Morrison has stepped up calls for employers to turn increasing profits into higher wages to help end the record run of flat wages growth.

By Leith van Onselen Since I work from home in the suburbs, I rarely venture into Melbourne’s CBD anymore.

From the NAB quarterly business survey: A little upwards pressure comprehensively swamped by new supply.

By Leith van Onselen Faith in trickle-down economics among Australia’s business elite must be slipping, with former BCA head, Tony Shepherd, backing calls for Australia’s largest companies give pay rises in exchange for company tax cuts.

By Leith van Onselen The immigration-driven population boom in Sydney – which has added 845,000 people (20%) to Sydney’s population over the past 12 years and is projected to increase Sydney’s population by 87,000 people a year over the next 20 years – is the gift that keeps on giving.

Via Rio Tinto today: Rio Tinto is gearing itself for rising wage pressure in Australia and its other host nations after reporting a 69 per cent rise in full-year profits and paying out record dividends to shareholders.

By Leith van Onselen Several big name economists have questioned the data used by the ALP and the ACTU in arguing that corporate profits are growing at a much faster pace than wages.

From the AIG comes the Construction PMI: ▪ The seasonally adjusted Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®) increased by 1.5 points to 54.3 points in January (readings above 50 points indicate expansion).

By Leith van Onselen The frequency of #SardineSydney stories in the mainstream media has escalated as the city’s population has swelled way above the capacity of the road, public transport and housing systems.

By Leith van Onselen Yesterday’s retail sales figures should detract from Australia’s September quarter GDP when the national accounts are released early next month.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: While companies might reap significant gains in productivity from automating certain jobs, this won’t necessarily lead to pay rises for everyone.