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Australia’s economy is on the verge of crawling to a standstill, with gross domestic product rising just 0.1% in the first three months of the year.
New national accounts data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed the weak numbers – the lowest since September 2021, when the economy pulled back.
“GDP growth was weak in March, with the economy posting its slowest annual growth since December 2020,” said ABS head of national accounts Catherine Keenan.
“GDP per capita fell for the fifth consecutive quarter, falling 0.4% in March and 1.3% on the year.”
Economists had expected either very little or no growth, with Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock telling Senate Estimates earlier today that she did not expect GDP to increase.
”I would say we are in a position where the economy is very weak,” she said.
“We have … people cutting discretionary spending, but we still have growth in the labor market, and that’s a very important point to remember — that the unemployment rate is rising gradually, but employment continues to rise.”
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