Charting Australia’s world-record income collapse

Friday 14 March 2025

On Wednesday, I posted charts showing the record decline in Australian real per capita household disposable income.

Annual real per capita household disposable income fell for a record tenth consecutive quarter, down 8.1% from the Q2 2022 peak.

Real household disposable income per capita

The magnitude of this decline is illustrated in the following chart, which compares the current episode against prior downturns.

Real per capita household income downturn

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.