Australia has technically lost its famous nickname as “The Lucky Country” and fallen into recession for the first time in almost three decades, the BBC’s Australia correspondent Shaimaa Khalil reports.
GDP figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have shown that the economy shrank by 7% in the last three months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
For young people who have recently joined the workforce, this is something they’ve never experienced before. Australia has had a steady economy growth for decades with strong coal, iron ore and natural gas exports to a surging China. Tourism has also been a big driver of growth.
But this year, the country was hit hard – twice.
When the bushfires ravaged through more than 12 million hectares, tourism was bashed and thousands of small business lost months of essential seasonal revenue.
Then the coronavirus became a global pandemic. Australia closed down its borders and imposed strict social distancing rules. Nearly 1 million people lost their jobs as a result.