Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal in Australia

Australia: Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal was 0 Unspecified in 2026. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2026)
0 Unspecified
World rank
9th
of 30 countries
All-time high
1 Unspecified
in 1982
All-time low
0 Unspecified
in 1979
Years of data
48
1979–2026

Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal in Australia, 1979–2026

00.20.40.60.81197920022026

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Unspecified.

Analysis

In 2026, sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal in Australia stood at 0 Unspecified. That is the lowest value across all 48 years on record.

Over the whole period, sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal in Australia peaked at 1 Unspecified in 1982 and was at its lowest, 0 Unspecified, in 1979.

Australia ranks 9th of 30 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal in Australia, 1979 to 2026.
Year Unspecified Change
1979 0 Unspecified —
1980 0 Unspecified —
1981 0 Unspecified —
1982 1 Unspecified —
1983 1 Unspecified +0.0%
1984 0 Unspecified -100.0%
1985 0 Unspecified —
1986 0 Unspecified —
1987 0 Unspecified —
1988 0 Unspecified —
1989 0 Unspecified —
1990 0 Unspecified —
1991 1 Unspecified —
1992 1 Unspecified +0.0%
1993 0 Unspecified -100.0%
1994 0 Unspecified —
1995 0 Unspecified —
1996 0 Unspecified —
1997 0 Unspecified —
1998 0 Unspecified —
1999 0 Unspecified —
2000 0 Unspecified —
2001 0 Unspecified —
2002 0 Unspecified —
2003 0 Unspecified —
2004 0 Unspecified —
2005 0 Unspecified —
2006 0 Unspecified —
2007 0 Unspecified —
2008 0 Unspecified —
2009 0 Unspecified —
2010 0 Unspecified —
2011 0 Unspecified —
2012 0 Unspecified —
2013 0 Unspecified —
2014 0 Unspecified —
2015 0 Unspecified —
2016 0 Unspecified —
2017 0 Unspecified —
2018 0 Unspecified —
2019 0 Unspecified —
2020 1 Unspecified —
2021 0 Unspecified -100.0%
2022 0 Unspecified —
2023 0 Unspecified —
2024 0 Unspecified —
2025 0 Unspecified —
2026 0 Unspecified —

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 1
1980s 0.2 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 1 Unspecified 10
1990s 0.2 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 1 Unspecified 10
2000s 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 10
2010s 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 10
2020s 0.1429 Unspecified 0 Unspecified 1 Unspecified 7

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 9 Canada 0 Unspecified compare
  2. 9 United States 0 Unspecified compare
  3. 9 France 0 Unspecified compare
  4. 9 Denmark 0 Unspecified compare
  5. 9 Italy 0 Unspecified compare
  6. 9 Sweden 0 Unspecified compare
  7. 9 Finland 0 Unspecified compare
  8. 9 Belgium 0 Unspecified compare
  9. 9 Germany 0 Unspecified compare
  10. 9 Portugal 0 Unspecified compare
  11. 9 Spain 0 Unspecified compare
  12. 9 Hungary 0 Unspecified compare
  13. 9 Austria 0 Unspecified compare
  14. 9 Greece 0 Unspecified compare
  15. 9 Estonia 0 Unspecified compare
  16. 9 Lithuania 0 Unspecified compare
  17. 9 Poland 0 Unspecified compare
  18. 9 Latvia 0 Unspecified compare
  19. 9 Mexico 0 Unspecified compare
  20. 9 Iceland 0 Unspecified compare
  21. 9 Türkiye 0 Unspecified compare

See the full ranking of 32 places →

More reference data data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal in Australia?
Sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal in Australia was 0 Unspecified in 2026, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 1 Unspecified in 1982.
What is the lowest sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 Unspecified in 1979.
How does Australia rank for sahm rule recession indicator — recession signal?
Australia ranks 9th out of 30 countries with data for 2026.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

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Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/sahm-rule-recession-indicator-recession-signal/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Sahm rule recession indicator — Recession signal
Unit
Unspecified
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
32 places, 1,260 data points, 1955–2026
Last refreshed

The Sahm rule is a simple recession indicator based on increases in the unemployment rate. Originally developed for the United States, it is triggered when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least 0.5 percentage points above its lowest level in the previous year. To assess its usefulness beyond the United States, the OECD has calculated the Sahm indicator for OECD countries using monthly unemployment rates from the OECD Labour Force Surveys and replaced the fixed U.S. threshold with country-specific thresholds. Under this approach, the indicator is triggered when the three-month average unemployment rate rises above its country-specific threshold relative to its lowest level in the previous year. For more information please refer to Can we predict recessions using only unemployment data? Applying the Sahm rule to OECD countries.