“Consumer confidence readings are usually positive during the month of January and the level of 97.9 is the weakest January result since 1992, when the Australian economy was experiencing sharply rising unemployment,” Plank said.
However, he doesn’t think the economy is as weak as the data might suggest, but says the result shows concerns about COVID have the potential to significantly impact the economy if they linger.
Subindices of the confidence survey for views on the economy and personal finances all fell, with 19 per cent expecting to be “worse xjmtzywoff” financially this time next year, the highest level since September 2020.
Prior to the Omicron outbreak, which has seen tens of of thousands of Australians infected each day and a spike in fatalities, the economy was rebounding smartly after last year’s lockdowns.
New data released by business and employment online operator LinkedIn showed hiring on average as of the December quarter was 16 per cent higher over the year compared to same pre-COVID period.
This came as virus lockdowns were gradually lifted in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
“However, there remain risks to the recovery given the emergence of the Omicron variant,” LinkedIn warned.
Even so, it expects the labour market to tighten in coming months with job seekers in the driver’s seat and in a better position to negotiate employment terms.
There are already signs that job seekers are becoming more selective in terms of there being fewer applications per job, down 63 per cent compared to 12 months earlier.
