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Indictors of whether the Australian economy is in a good or poor state

22 Sep 2020

Q. 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?

  Sep’20 Sep’19
The unemployment rate 39% 25%
The cost of household bills 13% 22%
The value of the Australian dollar to international currencies 12% 13%
The amount of homeless people on the streets 8% 10%
The interest rate set by Reserve Bank of Australia 6% 9%
The gross domestic product per person 7% 8%
The consumer price index 6% 6%
The size of the national surplus 6% 6%
The number of new shops, restaurants and cafes opening 3% 2%
Base (n) 1,081 1,097

 

  Total Gender Age
Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+
The unemployment rate 39% 34% 44% 38% 42% 38%
The cost of household bills 13% 12% 14% 14% 14% 11%
The value of the Australian dollar to international currencies 12% 13% 10% 19% 9% 8%
The amount of homeless people on the streets 8% 10% 7% 9% 9% 7%
The interest rate set by Reserve Bank of Australia 6% 5% 6% 2% 7% 8%
The gross domestic product per person 7% 9% 5% 4% 6% 10%
The consumer price index 6% 8% 4% 8% 5% 5%
The size of the national surplus 6% 5% 8% 4% 5% 9%
The number of new shops, restaurants and cafes opening 3% 4% 3% 3% 3% 4%
Base (n) 1,081 539 542 338 374 369
  • People rating the unemployment level as the key indicator for a healthy economy has increased in the past 12 months from 25% to 39% while the cost of household bills has fallen from 22% to 13%. All other indicators remain consistent.
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