If you’re wondering how the economic update of Australia for December 2024 has played out, Here are some news stories I think you’ll also find valuable:
- GDP falls in per-capita terms
- Five key facts about the economy
- ATO cracking down on GST fraud
- Why some workers hold multiple jobs
Read more below.
Australia’s economy is growing at an annualised rate of 0.8%, while its population is growing at 2.3%, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. As a result, the economy, in per-capita terms, actually declined 1.5% over the most recent 12-month period.
“The data shows much of the private sector faces recession-like conditions. It is only a flood of government spending in recent months that is masking the true picture in the broader economy,” said Innes Willox, the CEO of the national employer association, Ai Group.
Output declined year-on-year in mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, accommodation and food. However, it increased in education, healthcare and public administration – which are all heavily driven by government spending.
“An economy increasingly dependent on government spending in lower-productivity industries is simply not sustainable,” Mr Willox said.
“While government spending is keeping our head above water, it is concerning that the private sector is performing so weakly. To ensure momentum, it is essential that policy supports an increase in growth, investment and employment in the private sector.”
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While Australia’s economy is recording very weak growth (see previous story), the picture is mixed in other parts of the economy.
Here are five key facts based on the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data:
- Inflation is at the lowest level in three-and-a-half years, after falling from an annualised rate of 3.8% in the June quarter to 2.8% in the September quarter (see graph).
- Wages growth is at the lowest level in one-and-a-half years, after falling from an annualised rate of 4.1% in the June quarter to 3.5% in the September quarter.
- Job vacancies remain 45.1% higher than before the pandemic (in February 2020), despite falling 17.1% over the year to August.
- Households managed to save just 3.2% of their income in the September quarter, although this was up from 2.4% the quarter before and 1.5% the year before.
- Businesses are struggling to be productive, with GDP per hour worked falling 0.8% over the year to September.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned businesses to stay away from fraudulent GST schemes, after its Serious Financial Crimes Taskforce identified an increase in fraudulent claims for large GST refunds.
The taskforce has detected that some businesses are securing fraudulent GST refunds by using sophisticated structuring arrangements between inter-related parties, such as:
- Providing false invoicing between related entities
- Misaligning GST accounting methods across the group
- Duplicating GST credit claims across related entities for a single high-value transaction
- Claiming GST credits for alleged purchases, development and construction (by related entities) that have never happened
- Using dummy directors to hide the true relationship between entities
Taskforce chief John Ford said businesses that attempted to defraud the tax and super systems would get caught and face the full force of the law.
“We are equipped with the resources, sophisticated data matching, analytics capability and intelligence-sharing relationships to uncover even the most elaborate financial crime,” he said.
The ATO urged anyone involved in illegal invoicing or financial arrangements to make voluntary disclosures rather than waiting for the ATO to contact them.
One in 15 workers have more than one job, which is close to record levels.
The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data revealed that 6.6% of workers in September held multiple jobs – just below the record-high 6.7% recorded last year.
The prevalence of multiple job-holding is higher among:
- Regional workers compared to capital city workers
- Female workers compared to male workers
- Younger workers compared to older workers
“Multiple job-holders may have varying reasons for holding more than one job. In most cases, a person’s main job has a wages or hours constraint to it, which is why people look to work more jobs,” according to the ABS.
“However, it should be noted that in some industries, a second job is used to expand job experience and portfolios. An example is the health care and social assistance industry. Health care practitioners could work in their own private practice, as well as being a salaried hospital employee where they can gain experience or gain access to hospital facilities and equipment.”
