Government MPs wondering whether to ditch Prime Minister Tony Abbott now or give him a few more months to get his act together ought to have a close read of the Reserve Bank's latest economic statement.

It's upped its forecast for unemployment and cut its forecast for economic growth. So bleak were the original forecasts presented to the board on Tuesday that they had to be massaged in the document made public on Friday in order not to harm confidence.

Delaying restoring economic growth to what it could be for another year would cost Australia $40 billion. Credit:Andrew Meares

The budget update presented by Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey in December forecast low economic growth of 2.5 per cent this financial year followed by 3 per cent in 2015-16, each figure well below Australia's potential growth rate, which is why unemployment was going to climb to 6.5 per cent.

The figure presented to the board would have been for growth of around 2.75 per cent in 2015-16, embarrassingly low for a country with Australia's potential and painfully low for a government about to face re-election.