Access Economics is predicting unemployment will soar beyond eight percent by the end of 2010.
In its latest Business Outlook report, the economic forecaster said it expects close to one million Australians will be unemployed by late 2010, however the recession will be less severe in Australia than its counterparts.
“There are key reasons to be optimistic, including the … good health of our banks, the big stomp on the accelerator from Australian policymakers … and better growth in our backyard than anywhere else in the world.”
However their outlook is more dire than originally predicted, with the forecaster saying families and businesses are starting to pull in, saving their money rather than spending it. They believe this then slows the pace of demand growth and pushes the unemployment rate up.
“When Australians stop spending, unemployment starts rising. The bigger the downturn, the bigger are the risks for Australian unemployment.”
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