Economic rebound weakest in OECD

The economy has regained less than half the output it lost during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, making the economic rebound among the weakest in the OECD.

The economy has regained less than half the output it lost during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, making the economic rebound – which has brought the technical recession to an end – among the weakest in the OECD.

The economy grew 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of the year, the ABS said yesterday, or 47 per cent of the percentage decline witnessed in the second quarter, which compares to an average of 85 per cent among 19 OECD countries surveyed by Deloitte Access Economics.

France and Italy, whose economies were hit far harder by the pandemic, more than reversed the steep declines in the second quarter of the year.

In France quarterly GDP, which collapsed 13.7 per cent, surged 18.3 per cent in the third quarter, the relatively largest rebound among 19 countries surveyed by Deloitte

“The bigger they fell, the more they rebounded,” said Deloitte Senior Economist Harry Murphy-Cruise.

The US economy contracted 9 per cent in the second quarter ahead of a 7.4 per cent rebound in the third quarter.

Sweden, which has been condemned for resisting nationwide stage 4 lockdowns, grew 4.3 per cent in the third quarter, a little over 50 per cent of the decline it endured in the second quarter.

“The good news is that Australia’s economy wasn’t as hard hit as most other nations. And, with Australia’s COVID numbers extremely low, state borders opening up and vaccines on the horizon, that leaves us really well-placed,” Mr Murphy-Cruise said.

Australia’s quarterly growth over the three months to September was the most rapid since 1976, Josh Frydenberg said on Wednesday.