Australian Economy Grows 0.8 Percent Despite Floods, COVID-19 Surge

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published June 01, 2022 | 12:10 PM

CANBERRA, June 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jun, 2022 ) --:Australia's economy grew by 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2022, beating economists' expectations.

According to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday, gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.8 percent in the March quarter and 3.3 percent over the past year.

Economists had forecast growth of approximately 0.5 percent for the quarter and 2.9 percent annually.

The growth came despite a spike in coronavirus infections and catastrophic flooding hitting much of the country's east coast throughout January, February and March.

The ABS noted that the better-than-expected result was driven by a rise in household consumption and government spending.

However, Jim Chalmers, the treasurer under the new Labor government, said the economy is weaker than forecast by the previous government and his predecessor, Josh Frydenberg.

"These are glimpses at the mess the former government has left behind for us to clean up," Chalmers told reporters in Canberra.

"You can see in these figures, even with a number on the surface, when it looks relatively robust, is much lower in many instances and what the government was relying on in the forecast in the budget."