Decomposed into the 5 sentiment categories, the 2 main contributors to the index's drop are that none of Finder's panel of economists had a positive view of household debt and housing affordability over the next 6 months.
The next largest contributor is cost of living, where only 3% of economists had a positive outlook.
The number of economists with a positive outlook on employment dropped to only 13% in May 2024 from 72% in May 2022. Additionally, 24% of the experts were optimistic about wage growth over the next six months.
Finder's Graham Cooke noted that, "The last few months have shown the only significant upward trend in economic sentiment since early 2022, when the average positivity peaked at 38% in March 2022. No experts had a positive outlook on household debt or housing affordability, which is understandable in the middle of a high-interest cost of living crisis. Despite likely cash rate cuts in 2024, renters and first home buyers can expect to feel more economic pain."
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:
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.
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Finder's Property Investment Index predicts price growth in each suburb across Australia's major cities. Find out how your suburb stacks up.
Finder's Property Investment Index predicts price growth in each suburb across Australia's major cities.
Finder's Property Investment Index predicts price growth in each suburb across Australia's major cities.
Finder's Property Investment Index predicts price growth in each suburb across Australia's major cities.
Finder's Property Investment Index predicts price growth in each suburb across Australia's major cities. Find out how your suburb stacks up.
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