Tas economy contracts

Tasmania’s economy contracted for the March quarter, the second worst result in the nation in the latest ABS figures.

It dipped 0.2%, while Australia’s economy expanded by a fairly weak 0.2%.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers expected consumers to be tightening their belts.

“They are saving less and they are paying more in interest, household consumption eased for the third quarter in a row, it grew by just 0.2% in the quarter and that’s because households pulled back on discretionary spending.”