Finder’s Economic Positivity Index

Tracking the outlook Finder's panel of economic experts.

Saranga Sudarshan's headshot

By

Saranga Sudarshan

Updated

Fact checked

Key takeaways

  • Finder's Economic Positivity Index has decreased by 2 percentage points.
  • 7% of Finder's panel on average had a positive view of the economy.

The share of experts with a positive view on the cost of living dropped from 14% to 4% in December 2025, and none reported a positive outlook on household debt.

On the other hand, optimism about employment rose from 4% to 12%, and sentiment on wage growth increased to 15% from 14%. Confidence in housing affordability stayed steady at 4% with no change.

Finder's Graham Cooke highlighted that, "The last few months have shown the only significant upward trend in economic sentiment since early 2022, when average positivity peaked at 38% in March 2022. No experts had a positive outlook on household debt or housing affordability, which is understandable amid a high-interest cost of living crisis. Despite potential cash rate cuts in 2024, renters and first-time home buyers should expect more economic challenges."

What is the Finder Economic Positivity Index?

Finder's Economic Positivity Index is a monthly measure of how the economists on Finder's RBA cash rate panel view the outlook for the Australian economy across 5 broad categories. It provides a snapshot of the consensus positive sentiment of economic experts on the Australian economy as a whole over the next 6 months.

The index is collated from over 3,400 responses to Finder's RBA cash rate survey since March 2018. It is produced by analysing data collected across 5 categories:

  • Employment
  • Wage growth
  • Housing affordability
  • Cost of living
  • Household debt

Each category is measured with a question that asks whether the economist has a positive, neutral or negative outlook over the following 6 months. These responses are then collated into a consensus opinion, then averaged to form the final positivity index.

Saranga Sudarshan's headshot
Analyst

Saranga Sudarshan is an experienced analyst specialising in consumer finance research, data analysis and market intelligence. Formerly a research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, he holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of St Andrews, as well as a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Sydney. Saranga was an Analyst at Finder from 2022 to 2024. See full bio

Saranga's expertise
Saranga has written 21 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Data analysis
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