What does the mid-year budget update mean for the economy?

After a terrible year, Australia’s economy is recovering.

There’s strong momentum in jobs growth as we head into the summer break.

The Federal Government’s budget is in slightly better shape than it was two months ago.

And some economists think there’s more room for optimism than forecasts suggest — but don’t mention the trade tensions with China.

What can we learn from today’s update to the 2020-21 budget?

An unusual budget update

In a normal year, the Federal Government typically releases its annual budget in May and updates it in December.

But this year it couldn’t release its budget until October, so today it has updated a budget that’s only two months old.

However, there have been enough positive developments in the economy in the past…