Finder’s Economic Positivity Index

Tracking the outlook Finder's panel of economic experts.

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Saranga Sudarshan

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Key takeaways

  • Finder's Economic Positivity Index fell by 6 percentage points.
  • 14% of Finder's panel, on average, had a positive view of the economy.

Sentiment weakened this month, with optimism on wage growth, housing affordability and cost of living falling, while confidence in employment and household debt held steady.

Optimism around jobs was unchanged at 3%, while confidence in wages fell to 3% from 10%.

Sentiment on housing affordability dropped sharply, with optimism falling to 27% from 45%.

Optimism on cost of living slipped to 3% from 7%, while household debt held steady at 3%.

Economic sentiment had steadily recovered since hitting a record low of 4% in March 2026, reaching 14% in September, but fell back to 8% this month, its lowest level since March. Housing affordability remains the strongest category at 27%, though it has dropped back to its June level after hitting 45% in September, the highest since September 2020. With wage optimism at its lowest in almost six years and the RBA lifting the cash rate again on 3 November, households are likely to stay under pressure.

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.

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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 19 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Data analysis
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