Five graphs that show the economy might have turned a corner

Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees with the Australian economy. With all the influx of news and data, it's easy to lose track of the big picture.

In the past few weeks, we’ve actually been showered with some rather positive data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that indicates that there may be good things in store for the country’s prosperity. Yet the negativity from the recent spate of job cuts and company closures lingers.

Sure, it isn't all good. For instance, company profits rose less than forecast in the December quarter, according to the ABS. 

But there's still a lot to be upbeat about. Here's five graphs that show Australia’s economy is on the up.

1. Building approvals smashed expectations in January

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Read more: Building approvals beat forecasts in Jan

2. The economy grew faster than expected in the December quarter

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Read more: GDP beats expectations in Dec quarter

3. Retail spending continues to grow, but leaped in January

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Read more: Retail sales soar in January

4. The proportion of of total bank loans to first home buyers is on the rise after a steep decline

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Read more: Uptick in first home buyer loan approvals buoys flat housing finance figures

5. Total job creation numbers thrashed analyst expectations in February

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Read more: Unemployment rate steady in February

On that last one, it's worth noting Callam Pickering’s point from last week:

“There is a huge caveat to these exceptional data. The ABS estimates that around 37 per cent of employment growth in February was driven by sample changes and 29 per cent of the decline in people not in the workforce. The ABS instead suggests that we focus on trend estimates.

"I’d caution readers from getting too far ahead of themselves. By the ABS’s own admission the strong February data is unreliable and the trend data point to a far more modest improvement in labour market conditions. Quite frankly, this is a confusing monthly report and one that will be misinterpreted by many analysts."

So, is there enough here to signal a more sustained form of economic turnaround?

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or tweet the reporter @HarrisonPolites on Twitter.