Aussies looking on the bright side

Things are looking up for the Aussie economy, with declining unemployment and the recent same-sex marriage survey result boosting consumer confidence to a 16-week high, according to ANZand Roy Morgan Research.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating rose 1.4% to 116.4 this week, with households’ views towards both current and future economic conditions rising by 2.9% and 2.0% respectively, following previous solid increases of 3.5% and 7.0%.

While household views toward the state of their current finances slipped by -0.4% (the third consecutive drop), this stat remains well above the long term average. Household views towards future conditions jumped 3.0% last week, the first increase in four weeks.

ANZ senior economist, Felicity Emmett, credited the improved consumer sentiment to an upswing in views towards current and future economic conditions:

“This improvement likely reflects ongoing labour market strength, with the most recent jobs report showing a decline in the unemployment rate to multi-year low of 5.4%. In addition, the success of the ‘Yes’ vote in the marriage equality plebiscite, may have provided a boost to confidence.”

“The outlook for employment in the near term remains positive, consistent with elevated business conditions and leading labour market indicators, and this should continue to broadly support confidence. However, last week’s weaker-than-expected wage growth is likely to weigh on consumers, particularly in the current environment of moderating house price growth and high household debt. Together, these factors are likely to cap the extent of improvement in sentiment.”

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