This analysis, by Deloitte Access Economics, suggests that the federal government's planned cuts to the coronavirus supplement for people on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and parenting payments could see the economy lose $31.3 billion and 145,000 full-time jobs over the next two years.

The COVID-19 virus, together with the ‘lockdowns’ instituted from March 2020 to prevent its spread, plunged the Australian economy into the deepest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This Supplement outlines what the available data tells us about the impacts on employment and incomes.

This report includes a preliminary analysis of the likely impact of COVID-19, the associated ‘lockdowns’, and government income support measures on income inequality.

The Australian community sector survey on which this publication is based was conducted during July 2020, at a time during which the sector was grappling with significant health, social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated changes in policy and service delivery.

This survey explores how the new rate of JobSeeker and other allowances has affected people’s ability to cover essential costs like housing, bills, food, medicine and other vital expenses. The survey also explores how people feel about the federal government’s plan to return income support payments to the old rates in late September.