High inflation, low growth and rising unemployment can be added to the federal treasurer’s wall of worries

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Jim Chalmers in a speech last week offered the scant encouragement that the economy would be “a bit better” in a year’s time.

Fast forward to Friday morning, and the treasurer revealed that his officials were busy downgrading their forecasts ahead of December’s mid-year budget update to show slower growth and higher unemployment.

Treasury is revising all the numbers for the midyear budget update as economists warn of a difficult six months ahead

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Jim Chalmers has revealed December’s midyear budget update will project weaker growth and higher unemployment, as economists warn of a difficult six months ahead for the Australian economy.

Two days after a senior Reserve Bank official foreshadowed the potential for another interest rate rise in under two weeks’ time, the treasurer in a speech on Friday morning will say “higher inflation is putting people under pressure, tighter monetary policy is weighing on domestic activity, and we can see that in the softening of the labour market”.