Let’s hope the Queensland Government doesn’t impose a lockdown in response to the new cases coming out of Goondiwindi, as the ABS’s estimates of retail turnover for September quarter show us once more the large adverse impact that lockdowns have on retail turnover (e.g. see Lockdowns see record 4.4% fall in quarterly retail sales and the chart below for the major states). As I’ve commented before, Queensland has been performing much better than the states which were locked down the longest. Queensland’s retail trade (in real terms) was up 0.2% in September quarter, which is probably consistent with state population growth running at under 1% per annum at the moment (see this ABS report). I suspect retail trade in Queensland would have grown much faster in September quarter if it weren’t for the short SEQ lockdowns we had in July and August and various interstate travel restrictions. Consider that WA was up 4.1%, SA was up 1.7%, and Tasmania was up 2.2%, in terms of retail trading volumes in September quarter.

I’m livestreaming my latest Economics Explored Live show later today, at 11.30am Brisbane time, and you can watch me via YouTube if you’d like to watch:

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