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2026-09-16 10:20:08
[Overwhelming Inflation, Low Household Mood in Australia] (1) Australians are generally in a low mood, with a number of factors contributing to this pessimism. (2) Challenger chief economist Jonathan Kearns said inflation is the primary factor. One way to conceptualize bad economic news is the “misery index,” which is the sum of the inflation rate and the unemployment rate. He added that if the index were to be overlaid with consumers’ memories of news about inflation and unemployment, the level of misery would be at record levels. (3) Kearns added that it is not only inflation that affects household mood, but also the price level itself. Therefore, even if the Reserve Bank of Australia successfully brings the inflation rate back to the 2.5% target level by early 2028, households may still not be happy.
