Australians feeling the hip-pocket pinch

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 08 Agustus 2014 | 20.01

Feeling the pinch? You're not alone. Source: News Limited

IF YOU'RE worried about cost-of-living, then you're far from alone.

New research from consumer advocacy group Choice found only 23 per cent of Australians classified themselves as living comfortably or very comfortably. Almost a third (32 per cent) of survey respondents said they were finding it difficult or very difficult to get by on their current income while 44 per cent said they were just getting by.

The results are hardly surprising given wage growth in Australia is the lowest it's been since records began 17 years ago. In the year to March, wages grew by only 2.6 per cent. Which means, what we we're being paid is being outstripped by the consumer price index, which was 3 per cent for the June quarter compared to the same time last year.

And with unemployment figures hitting a 12-year high of 6.4 per cent yesterday, it's not exactly an environment where people feel comfortable asking for that pay rise.

A whooping 84 per cent of Australians are worried about the rising cost of electricity. Source: Getty Images

But the cost of goods still keeps rising. At the front of Australians' cost-of-living worries is the price of electricity with 84 per cent respondents saying they were concerned. Eighty-one per cent identified fuel costs as a concern, followed by 77 per cent who said the cost of food and groceries gave them pause.

According to the Choice research, 48 per cent of Australians have seen their bills increase a lot while 41 per cent they saw their bills go up a little. Only 8 per cent reported they had seen no change.

All the sleepness nights are bad news for retailers in a sector that was only just pulling itself out a slump. Sixty-two per cent said the as a result of the pressure, they were cutting back spend on non-essential items such as entertainment, holidays and big ticket purchases.

Fifty-seven per cent said they were cutting back on clothes and entertainment.

Australians are also worried about the cost of fuel. Source: News Limited

Sixty-five per cent of Australians said they were worried about the level of savings and investments while 53 per cent were concerned about their superannuation value. Forty-eight per cent were worried about their debt.

More than just hip pocket worries, Australians are also worried about the overall economy while 72 per cent said they're worried about cutbacks in government spending.

Choice chief executive Alan Kirkland said: "Almost one in three respondents told us they find it difficult to get by on their current income, with one in five saying they have scraped through to payday by living off credit or borrowing from friends or family.

"This reveals some striking concerns with cost-of-living, which is perhaps not surprising at a time when inflation is outstripping sluggish wages growth, retail sales are fragile and the political debate remains focused on household expenses."


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Australians feeling the hip-pocket pinch

Dengan url

http://duniasikasik.blogspot.com/2014/08/australians-feeling-hip-pocket-pinch.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Australians feeling the hip-pocket pinch

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Australians feeling the hip-pocket pinch

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger