Interest rate hikes and the rising cost of living are starting to bite Australians seeking their first home. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday the number of new owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell 8.1 percent in January—its lowest level since February 2017. Mish Tan, ABS head of finance and wealth statistics,…

The pace of Australia’s economic recovery has exceeded the expectation of many observers; however, a new report has warned that the country will not be able to sustain the current growth. As indicated in the latest Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook, Australia’s jobless rate was heading toward 3.5 percent, the lowest in half a century,…

A surge in Omicron cases across the country will not hinder Australia’s economic recovery following last year’s COVID-19 restrictions, Australia’s federal treasurer said. It comes as new data released by the Australian Taxation Office revealed around half a million jobs had been created across the nation since September. Josh Frydenberg said Australia had experienced a…

The prolonged lockdown in Sydney, together with the fifth lockdown in Melbourne, has cast a shadow over the resilience of Australia’s economic recovery despite the Australian unemployment rate dropping to 4.9 percent in June, its lowest level since Dec 2010. According to ABS data released on July 15, the decline in the rate from 5.1…

Working Australians are expected to see $12 billion worth of tax cuts go into their pockets in the next six months as the federal government moves on from JobKeeper to other economic support policies. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the data shows around 8.8 million Australians had already benefitted from $9 billion in tax cuts from…

Australia has been told that it needs to move on from its “fascination with zero cases” of the CCP virus and return to pre-COVID-19 normality, a health expert has said. Prof. Shitij Kapur, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Melbourne, said the nation had done a good job with the handling…

Retailers enjoyed an exceptionally strong spend-up a month out from Christmas but there is some uncertainty around how they have fared since in the face of COVID lockdowns in two major capitals. Consumer confidence – a pointer to future household spending – ended 2020 on a sour note in response to the COVID-19 cluster and…