Australians ‘getting smashed’ by higher interest rates

Australian households have had it pretty tough over the last 12 months, says MacroBusiness Chief Economist Leith van Onselen. “The national accounts for the September quarter that were released earlier this month showed that per capita household incomes have actually fallen by six per cent in the last year,” he told Sky News contributor Gary Hardgrave. “Households are getting smashed by higher interest rates. “They’ve had the wage growth below inflation, rising rents, all that sort of thing. “Because of that, we’re actually cutting back spending.”