Finder’s Economic Positivity Index

Tracking the outlook Finder's panel of economic experts.

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By

Saranga Sudarshan

Updated

Fact checked

Key takeaways

  • Finder’s Economic Positivity Index held steady and showed no change from the previous period.
  • 9% of Finder’s panel on average had a positive view of the economy.

The share of experts with a positive outlook on the cost of living has lifted to 14% in November, up from zero in September, according to Finder's latest survey.

Positivity around wage growth also rose to 14%, from 10%, while optimism about household debt climbed to 7%, up from 5% two months earlier.

However, confidence in employment and housing affordability fell sharply, dropping from 15% to just 4% over the same period.

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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