ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were at 5.6% in mid-December – up 0.3% points from the month of November

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Jan-26

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations hit a two-year high of 5.6% for the week of 8-14 December 2025, up 0.3% points from the full month of November; this is the highest the index has been on a weekly basis since December 2023. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for November 2025 shows the measure at 5.1% for the month, up 0.1% points from the prior month of November, but since then inflationary pressures have increased. Looking back over the last six months, since mid-June, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.7% to 5.4%, and averaged 5.0%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for November shows increases around Australia in four States, but significant declines in Western Australia and South Australia. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Bankers hoping busy year will see M&A cash roll in

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Jan-26

Data from Dealogic shows that $US92.8bn worth of mergers and acquisitions targeting Australian companies were announced during 2025; this eight per cent higher than in 2024, and the highest level of activity since calendar 2021. Australia-based companies in turn pursued $US11.82bn worth of deals offshore. Marissa Freund from Goldman Sachs and Tim Joyce from Macquarie Capital are amongst those who expect M&A activity to remain strong in 2026. Meanwhile, global M&A activity totalled $US5.1trn in 2025, which is 42 per cent higher year-on-year.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

Pay rises slow but still beat inflation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 24-Dec-25

Data from the Department of Employment & Workplace Relations shows that the average pay rise in new enterprise agreements across the economy was an above-inflation 3.8 per cent in the September quarter; this compares with 4.2 per cent in the June quarter. The average increase in public sector wages was 3.6 per cent, compared with four per cent in the private sector. Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth says the data shows that Labor’s industrial relations reforms are "reinvigorating" enterprise bargaining. However, the figures show that 2.65 million workers were covered by enterprise agreements in the September quarter, down from a record 2.81 million in the three months to June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2pts to 81.5; plunges to its lowest for over a year since August 2024

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Dec-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2pts to 81.5 in the week to 14 December; it is now 2.4pts lower than a year ago (83.9), and 2.8pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.3. Analysis by State shows a split result, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up in Queensland after plunging a week ago. Now 19% of Australians (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 25% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 35% (also unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 8% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 24% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 36% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at 3.34 million in November – 12 months straight above 3 million

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-25

In November 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment was virtually unchanged at 1,628,000 (10.2% of the workforce). There were fewer people looking for full-time work (down 89,000 to 599,000), which was largely offset by the rise in people looking for part-time work (up 80,000 to 1,029,000). In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.71 million Australians (10.7% of the workforce, up 0.3%) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work (63,000 from October). In total 3.34 million Australians (20.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in November. Meanwhile, employment increased by 119,000 to 14,339,000; Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at 15,967,000 in November, up 110,000 on a month ago, and representing 68.8% of Australians aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2pts to 83.5, as buying sentiment plunges after Black Friday sales weekend

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2pts to 83.5 in the week to 7 December; it is now 2pts lower than a year ago (85.5), and 0.9pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.4. Analysis by State shows a split result, with Consumer Confidence down significantly in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but up slightly in New South Wales and Victoria. Now 21% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (also unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 25% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 35% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 9% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 31% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 26% (down 3ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 34% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 1.6pts to 85.5, despite net buying sentiment reaching its highest level since March 2022 amid the growing Black Friday sales weekend

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Dec-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.6pts to 85.5 in the week to 30 November; it is now 2.9pts lower than a year ago (88.4), but 0.9pts above the 2025 weekly average of 86.4. Analysis by State shows a split result, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales and Victoria, but up in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Now 21% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 27% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 34% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 9% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 30% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 29% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 31% (down 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Hunt for budget savings to extend beyond public service

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Luke Kinsella, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Dec-25

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the federal government has asked cabinet ministers to identify the five per cent of spending across their portfolios that is deemed to be the lowest priority. Her comments at a Senate estimates hearing suggest that Labor is seeking to cut spending across the public sector, rather than just the public service. Meanwhile, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that public sector demand increased by 1.2 per cent in the September quarter, following two quarters of negative growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations are at 5.4% in late November – up 0.4% points from the month of October

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Nov-25

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations hit a near two-year high at 5.4% for the week of November 17-23, up 0.4% points from the full month of October; this is the highest the index has been on a weekly basis since December 2023. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for October shows the measure at 5.0% for the month – up 0.1% points from September, although since then inflationary pressures have increased. Looking back over the last six months, since early June, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.7% to 5.4% and averaged 5.0%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for October shows increases around Australia in all six States. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade, and includes interviews with 5,099 Australians aged 14+ in October 2025.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.9pts to 87.1 driven higher for second straight week by more confidence about buying conditions ahead of Black Friday sales weekend

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Nov-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.9pts to 87.1 in the week to 23 November; it is now 1.4pts higher than a year ago (85.7), and 0.7pts above the 2025 weekly average of 86.4. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence is up in most States including New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but it is down in Queensland. Now 20% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 43% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (up 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 32% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 10% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 27% (up 3ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 33% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ