Unemployment tipped to double - and could see house prices fall 20 per cent

Australia's unemployment rate could almost double within six months, according to analysis of the Federal Government's latest budget projections.

An implied unemployment rate of around 10 per cent can be found by working backwards from the predicted budget impact from the freshly-announced $550 fortnightly supplement payments.

A wide range of social and economic issues would follow, including a possible 20 per cent slump in national property prices, according to separate forecasts.

"From the information (the government) provided around this $550 income support supplement - you can use the information around how long it's supposed to be paid for, and the existing number of participants - you can use all that information to come up with a rough estimate of how many additional people they think are likely to get that payment over the next six months," senior Macquarie economist Justin Fabo told 9News.

The numbers stretch into the hundreds of thousands and a possible unemployment rate of 10 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent in February.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg added weight to the idea by conceding the number of recipients could be upwards of one million, but not all would necessarily be fully unemployed.

"In costing the coronavirus supplement, Treasury estimate that up to a million people, in addition to people already accessing Newstart, could be accessing this new coronavirus supplement," Mr Frydenberg told Parliament. 

"That is a lot of people.'

"Some of those people who get the job seeker supplement may not be unemployed."

National property prices could fall by one-fifth

A spike in unemployment to 10 per cent could see national property prices tumble 20 per cent, according to AMP Chief Economist and Head of Investment Strategy, Shane Oliver, who sees Australia as having already entered a recession.

"We have always concluded that the combination of high prices and debt on their own won't trigger a major crash in prices unless there are much higher interest rates or a recession," Dr Oliver said.

"Unfortunately, we are now facing down the barrel of the latter."

If the recession turns out to be long and painful, rather than short and sharp, Dr Oliver says it could trip Australia's debt-filled and expensive property markets.

"A sharp rise in unemployment to say 10 per cent or beyond risks resulting in a spike in debt servicing problems, forced sales and sharply falling prices," Dr Oliver said. 

"This could then feed back to weaken the broader economy as falling home prices lead to less spending and a further rise in unemployment and more defaults and so on. This scenario could see prices fall 20 per cent or so."