The second wave of the outbreak has forced the Australian government to impose a second partial lockdown in the state of Victoria as 5 million people are told to stay at home for six weeks earlier this month, leaving only for essential business. The measures are taken after the official struggling to curb the spiking cases in the area. The recent outbreak and curbing measures is forecasted to slash another 0.75 percentage points from the GDP and country’s economic output in Q3.
The economic shutdown in the second-largest state of the continent has dampened the hope of quick rebound of the A$2 trillion ($1.4 trillion) economy, and it’s ongoing the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, and their unemployment rate has soared into a 22-year high. As the downturn will be longer than expected, the government officials said that it would spend A$16.8 billion to extend wage subsidies for struggling business hammered by the pandemic. The programme’s six-month extension lessens the fear of a hard end to the ongoing A$70 billion scheme, yet most economists still projecting significant economic contraction.
Westpac downgraded its forecast earlier this month from growth to a 4.2% contraction, from a 4% in the previous projection.
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Published on July 27, 2020 7:02 AM (GMT+8)Last Updated on July 27, 2020 7:02 AM (GMT+8)
