Australia’s economic downturn is worsening. Virus lockdowns in Australia’s largest states are expected to run longer, and will be felt in the country’s finances.
The AAP reported that a technical recession usually follows two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
“Whether it is a technical recession, for a lot of businesses and a lot of individuals it is going to feel like one,” Market Economics Managing Director Stephen Koukoulas told the AAP.
He said the next few months are going to feel like a recession following predictions of an economic downturn in the September quarter.
Figures are set to be released this week which will show the unemployment rate to 5 per cent after dropping to 4.9 per cent in June following the lockdown in Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
The Australian Unemployed Workers Union has called for more income support.
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“As a matter of immediate urgency, state and territory leaders must start extending the $1,500 isolation payment to everyone who has been diagnosed with COVID, or is a close contact. As it stands, welfare recipients are excluded from this payment – a needlessly cruel decision that is already harming people,” the Union said in a statement.
There are increased calls for COVID subsidies to be reintroduced.
