Victorians under the Andrews Labor government have become poorer than all other states and territories except South Australia, after years of weak household incomes, deteriorating economic growth per person and poor productivity, a devastating new analysis by leading economist Saul Eslake reveals.

The state’s decline over the past decade has been “covered up” by record numbers of interstate and overseas migrants propping up economic growth, a strategy upended by repeated lockdowns and international border closures during COVID-19.