Australian economy, economy, EMC, ER, Essential Media, Essential Report, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, polls, State of the Economy
Q. Compared to other developed countries (e.g. USA, UK, Japan, European nations) how would you rate the current state of the Australian economy?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Total good | 69% | 82% | 66% | 75% |
| Total poor | 7% | 2% | 9% | 1% |
| Very good | 24% | 37% | 15% | 38% |
| Good | 45% | 45% | 51% | 37% |
| Average | 21% | 14% | 24% | 21% |
| Poor | 4% | 2% | 5% | 1% |
| Very poor | 3% | – | 4% | – |
| Don’t know | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
69% believe that, compared to other developed countries, the current state of the Australian economy is good and 7% think it is poor. 82% of Labor voters think it is good compared to 75% of Greens voters and 66% of Liberal/National voters.
Those on higher incomes are more likely to think it is good – 75% of those on $1,600+ per week compared to 66% of those under $600 per week.
2011, 2011 outlook, Australian economy, economy, EMC, Essential Report, family, Personal financial situation
Q. Thinking about the next 12 months, do you think 2011 will be a good or bad year for each of the following?
| Total good | Total poor | Very good | Good | Neither good nor bad | Bad | Very bad | Don’t know/Not applicable | |
| The Australian economy | 48% | 16% | 5% | 43% | 32% | 14% | 2% | 5% |
| Your personal financial situation | 39% | 20% | 7% | 32% | 38% | 14% | 6% | 3% |
| Your workplace * | 47% | 16% | 8% | 39% | 33% | 13% | 3% | 4% |
| You and your family overall | 51% | 14% | 10% | 41% | 30% | 11% | 3% | 4% |
* based on working people
Overall, respondents were optimistic that 2011 would be a good year for themselves overall (51%), the Australian economy (48%) and their workplace (47%). They tended to be a little less optimistic about their financial situation (39% good/20% bad).
When compared with last week’s questions on perceptions of 2010, these figures suggest that respondents expect 2011 to be better than 2010.
In particular, more respondents believed it would be a good year for their personal situation (28% 2010/39% 2011), the Australian economy (41%/48%) and themselves and their families overall (43%/51%).
Australian economy, economic conditions, economy, EMC, ER, essential report, Interest rates
Q. Do you think the recent increase in official interest rates indicates that Australia’s economy is getting better or getting worse?
| % | |
| Economy is getting better | 53% |
| Economy is getting worse | 12% |
| Neither | 28% |
| Don’t know | 7% |
Just over half (53%) think the recent increase in official interest rates indicates that Australia’s economy is getting better, 12% think it is an indication that the economy is getting worse and 28% think it is not a sign that the economy is getting better or worse.
Labor voters were more likely to think the interest rate rise is a sign that the economy is getting better (61%), while Coalition voters were a little more likely than the average to think that it is a sign that the economy is getting worse (18%). 48% of Coalition voters think that the recent interest rate increase is a sign that the economy is getting better.