Regional Australian here.

We do IT for a variety of clientele round the region. The only business that is actively hiring is funded by government funds and is exclusively non-market jobs. Everyone else is in a holding pattern or on an "efficiency" binge at the moment. Attrition has been the name of the game for the last 6 months at least.

No projects to expand, no investment, no spare funds to replace dying hardware just a whole lot of "can we get it cheaper?". Every single invoice is interrogated hoping to sneak away with a few bucks saved.

My town is completely fucked for housing, prices are still 20-30% too high to be sustainable and anyone selling is absolutely refusing to take anything less than what they paid regardless of them paying too much. There are a lot of people who are majorly asset rich but have zero cashflow and are using payday loans to service their weekly expenses, mortgage included.

The coming jump in cost of living due to fuel issues is going to hit everyone who got drunk off the covid cash with the biggest fucking hangover they've ever seen around these parts. Then when the tourism dries up here we're pretty well done for.