Australian economy according to indicators

Q. Overall, how would you describe the current state of the Australian economy? and Which of the following indicators do you think is the most important when thinking about whether the Australian economy is in a good or poor state?

	NET: Good	NET: Poor	NET (+/-)
The size of the national surplus	51%	21%	+30
The consumer price index	45%	24%	+21
The gross domestic product per person	44%	31%	+13
The value of the Australian dollar to international currencies	34%	27%	+7
The unemployment rate	29%	29%	0
The interest rate set by Reserve Bank of Australia	32%	40%	-8
The number of new shops, restaurants and cafes opening	41%	54%	-13
The amount of homeless people on the streets	26%	41%	-15
The cost of household bills	22%	39%	-17

• Half (51%) of those who think the national surplus is the best indicator for economic performance believe the economy is in a good place.
• Those looking at household bills as an indicator for economic strength are the most pessimistic, with just 22% thinking the economy is in a good state, and 39% thinking it is in a poor state.
• The amount of homeless people on the streets is a similarly negative economy indicator, with two-fifths of participants (41%) who consider this the most important indicator of the economy, believing the economy is in a poor state (compared to just 26% who think it’s in a good place).