Macroeconomic indicators

The Department forecasts a number of macroeconomic aggregates for inclusion in the budget papers.

These forecasts have three main purposes:

  • they provide a framework for presenting the economic context in which the budget is developed;
  • most of the economic aggregates or their sub-components are used in the modelling of taxation and other revenue lines; and
  • forecasts of nominal gross state product (GSP) are used to express key financial aggregates in relation to the size of the economy, such as non-financial public sector net debt to nominal GSP.

The spreadsheet below contains the seven published aggregates for the budget papers (Budget and Budget Update):

  • real GSP
  • nominal GSP
  • employment
  • unemployment
  • the consumer price index
  • the wage price index
  • population.

A paper outlining the methods used to forecast the macroeconomic indicators can be found in:

Reviewed 18/12/2023
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