Morrison Coalition Government

As usual Bob, you have absolutely no idea. 

Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe says the JobKeeper program may need to be extended if the workforce needs it.

Key points:

·         "It's too early to say ... what the economy is going to be like, in four months' time," says RBA governor Philip Lowe

·         Mr Lowe says late September will be a "critical point" when Government support is winding back at the same time as loan deferrals

·         The RBA boss says JobKeeper may need to be extended or tapered for certain industries that may not have recovered by September

He warned Australia's economy would hit a "critical point" in September when a raft of stimulus measures stops, and it was "very important" not to withdraw fiscal stimulus too early.  "The key observation is that the world is very uncertain, and I think it's too early to say what it's going to be, what the economy is going to be like, in four months' time," Dr Lowe said on Thursday.

"But if we have not come out of the current trough in economic activity, there will be, and there should be, a debate about how the JobKeeper program transitions into something else, whether it's extended for specific industries, or somehow tapered."

He said the economy may be in a better condition than originally feared, and the RBA had revised down its estimate for working hours lost in May from 20 per cent to 15 per cent.  However, he said even though some jobs in retail and hospitality were coming back as parts of the economy slowly reopen, jobs in industries like construction and professional services are starting to fall away.

He said he was glad the six-month JobKeeper program will be reviewed at the three-month mark.  "It's clearly going to be a critical point when that scheme comes to an end and also when the deferral for six months of mortgage payments and other payments that the banks are offering … so that's a critical point for the economy," Dr Lowe said.