Most Australians Living Paycheck To Paycheck, Survey Shows

Millions of people look at Australia as a land of opportunity but based on a recent report, millions of Australians are struggling financially as the amount they earn from their job is not sufficient for them to live a good life. Things get a lot worse if you lose your job or are struggling to find a job. 

Financial website finder.com.au took out a survey which showed that most Australian’s would not be able to survive for more than a month if they lost their job as the majority of them are living paycheck to paycheck.

There are a number of different circumstances that have made things difficult for Australians to live financially comfortable in recent times.

This includes high underemployment, rising costs of living, and flat wage growth. A lot of Aussie workers who would normally be employable are having a hard time finding jobs. Reports show that there is a lot of demand in the market and some jobs have more than 100 applicants making it difficult to secure employment quickly. 

According to financial analysts, over 46 percent of Australians are living from paycheck to paycheck, with no financial fallback. To put things into perspective, this means that 5.9 million Australians would be in deep trouble if they suddenly lost their jobs. The report also reveals that only 36 percent of Australians would be able to live off their saving for four months before they also find themselves in a tight spot. 

The most troubling aspect of the survey is that 16 percent of Australians which is the equivalent of 2 million Aussies will not be able to survive for more than a week without a job. 

Flat Wage Growth

One of the main factors that has caused this crisis is that wage growth has been flat. According to data collected, in the past five years, the annual increase in wages has been below two per cent which is less than half of the accepted wage increase.

In a statement, Bessie Hassan, a money expert said

Mortgage stress is pretty rampant as well. A lot of people fall into that bucket, particularly those in capital cities and, especially, in Sydney. Even with interest rates falling, which helps, it’s still a big chunk of people’s take-home pay and it can be hard to have enough disposable income when your expenses are growing.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that one million people are underemployed in Australia. One must also consider that the cost of living pressures has increased significantly and Aussies are paying even more than they did when it comes to their necessities.