In the past, Australians’ sense of economic optimism has proven resilient, even remaining buoyant during the 2008 global financial crisis. But the pandemic changed that, plunging overall economic optimism in 2020 to the lowest point (52%) in the Lowy Institute Poll’s history.

In 2024, fears of a global recession have moderated, but the post-Covid global economic recovery has been slow. Growth in China remains lacklustre, inflation lingers in North America, and the economies of Europe remain sluggish, while wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have impacted supply chains and prices. In Australia, rising costs of living and interest rate increases over the past two years have put many households under financial pressure.

A majority of Australians (58%) still say they are either ‘optimistic’ (54%) or ‘very optimistic’ (4%) about Australia’s economic performance in the next five years. However, this represents a slight drop in overall economic optimism by four points, to the second-lowest level in the past two decades.

This moderate change masks a more significant generational divide in economic outlook. Overall economic optimism fell sharply by 11 points on last year in the 18–29 age group (44%), while optimism levels held steady among those aged over 45.

Economic optimism