See the world through the eyes of an economist.
Building Back Normal
Building approvals continue to trend higher, with another significant gain in January. We’re still short of the 20,000 a month run rate required for the government’s target, but it’s an improvement.
Consumers welcome rate cut
In more good news, consumer confidence continues to trend higher as well, with the rate cut last month putting an extra spring in our step.
Inflation down too
And at the risk of sounding too glass-half-full, the Westpac-MI measuring of inflation has broken below the target band, suggesting inflation is well and truly beaten now.
Lots of Government Jobs, but not Too Many
I have noted a few times recently that the recent strength in the jobs market is perhaps a bit of a mirage, since the lion’s share of jobs growth recently has been in the public sector.
However, when you look at Australia’s public sector employment relative to other countries, it’s not all that high, even with the recent gains. So maybe its ok.
Romance is dead
Finally, ‘Romance’ as a movie genre seems to be dying. Less than 10% of all films last year were Romance. What’s going on? Are girls turning to Marvel? Or is Netflix and Bridgerton eating the film industries turf?
And that’s how the world looked through the eyes of an economist this week.
DB.