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Anxiety levels rise as Aussies worry about jobs and cost of living; NAB Quarterly Australian Consumer Anxiety Index
Topic Started: 17 Jan 2014, 09:15 AM (979 Views)
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Anxiety levels creep up, as Aussies worry about job security and cost of living

15 January 2014
Yolanda Redrup

Victorians are now considered the nation’s most anxious people, as the struggling manufacturing and automotive sectors have caused concerns over job security.

Consumer anxiety rose slightly in the last quarter, up to 61.5 on NAB’s quarterly Australian Consumer Anxiety Index, indicating “moderate” levels of worry.

Cost of living remained the nation’s highest concern, with utility bills, education and housing costs the driving factors.

NAB chief economist Alan Oster told SmartCompany people are most worried about non-discretionary items.

“Things like entertainment, travel and holiday costs weren’t a problem for people, but utility bills, education and housing is a concern because these are things you can’t do without,” he says.

“Some economists and media reports suggest the cost of living is low, but Consumer Price Index figures don’t include the top 15% of increases and the bottom 15% of decreases in costs, this means as energy prices have sky-rocketed it hasn’t been included in the figures.”

Around 34% of respondents ranked cost of living has a “high” anxiety, while only 15% of Australians rated it “very low”.

Victoria and Western Australia recorded the highest increases in anxiety, while it fell in all other states.

People earning less than $35,000 were the most anxious overall, while those earning above $100,000 were significantly less concerned, recording the lowest anxiety rates in the country.

Oster says there was also a difference between men and women, with females more worried about job security, health and superannuation.

“They’re particularly worried about not having enough money to retire,” Oster says.

Overall, the number of Australians reporting the ability to fund retirement as a “high” anxiety increased in the last quarter from 26.6% to 28.8%.

Women between the ages of 18-29 and 40-49 drove the anxiety levels, while women above 50 reported anxiety as being largely unchanged.

“Overall wellbeing results showed if you had a high level of wellbeing the things concerning you most were personal relationships and if you had a low level of wellbeing, financial issues and health issues ranked most highly,” Oster says.

The index first began being recorded twelve months ago and within that time the highest nationwide anxiety rating was recorded in the March last year at 62.9 out of 100.

Oster says a moderate overall level of anxiety is still at the low end of the spectrum.

“It rose a bit this time mainly because people got concerned over job security. Job security rose from 45 to 47.8 on the index, the highest rating we’ve had. This is driven by WA and Victoria. The west is getting more nervous because it’s at the end of the employment phase of the mining boom.”

Read more: http://leadingcompany.smartcompany.com.au/news/anxiety-levels-creep-up-as-aussies-worry-about-job-security-and-cost-of-living/201401155058
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mango66
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Anxiety index ha ha. Ive seen it all now. That must linked to the stupidity index 13% of Australians are suffering from in regards to thinking house price rises are good for us.
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Foxy
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Zero is coming...

Donkeys think carrots on sticks are good for them.
Peter
Don't waste your time trying to explain the carrot on the stick is the root of all your problems donkey, because he will knock you out of the way to get that carrot.
It's just donkeys and carrots man.
Supply and demand.
http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/n/2/1/u/8/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1456285515560.png
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Housing costs high on the list of consumer anxiety concerns

Jennifer Duke | 27 March 2014

Housing costs are the second highest factor influencing the cost of living for consumers, with the ‘cost of living’ factor itself remaining the top item on the NAB Consumer Anxiety Index.

Consumer anxiety was specifically higher for those who live in New South Wales or the ACT, lived in rural or bush areas and earned between $35,000 to $50,000.

Housing costs were cited as the second influential factor on living costs after utility costs. Transport costs, health and medical costs, education costs, financial commitments and food costs were listed as other factors.

Despite cost of living still topping the list, this is an improvement on the last quarter of 2013. Even so, nearly one third of respondents rated this with ‘high’ anxiety, while just one in seven responded with ‘very low’.

In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and ACT, however, it was utilities that were cited as the worst factor. In South Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania, housing costs topped the list. In Western Australia, food costs was seen as the most negative factor.

Job security concerns were also seen the grow, with 37% rating job security anxiety ‘medium’ or ‘high’, up from 2013’s last quarter result of 33%. This evened out with 36.5% rating it ‘very low’. This has seen the balance tip, with 40% in the last survey pointing to ‘very low’ anxiety around job security.

Read more: http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/financing/loans-and-mortgages/29658-housing-costs-high-on-the-list-of-consumer-anxiety-concerns.html
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Pain of high energy bills shows in Ernst and Young report

October 12, 2014 - 4:53PM
Esther Han

One in three Australian households have missed an electricity bill payment in the past year and one in 10 have skipped three or more, largely because they could not afford to pay, new research shows.

As soaring energy prices squeeze family budgets, consultancy firm Ernst and Young found among those who missed a bill, 60 per cent could not afford to pay, 32 per cent had forgotten to pay, and 7 per cent had disputed it.

However, the alarming figures released on Monday are part of a report pitched at energy retailers seeking to expand their customer base and boost on-time payments, as families increasingly struggle with higher bills.

It said customers were more likely to pay on time if they were offered discounts, text reminders, the ability to select billing dates, and mobile phone apps.

But Oliver Derum, senior policy officer of energy and water at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said energy retailers should first focus on rebuilding customer trust by pricing their services fairly and correctly.

"Very worrying numbers of people are making terrible sacrifices to pay their bills," Mr Derum said.

"They buy food that's not healthy, they have two meals a day, they retreat into social isolation and don't invite people over because they can't afford to heat the living room," he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/pain-of-high-energy-bills-shows-in-ernst-and-young-report-20141012-1142j6.html
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