“Typical Australian families are no better off than they were five years ago.”
If you think you are worse off despite a raft of economic statistics saying things are getting better, you’re probably right.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (known as HILDA) tracks the same 17,000 Australians each year to find out whether their particular living standards have improved.
Beginning in 2001, the HILDA survey finds that the typical household was better off each year until 2009, with the typical real household disposable incomes climbing from $57,704 to $76,264 – a gain of 32%.
Between 2009 and 2011 the global financial crisis pushed down typical household income by 5% to $72,260 as household members lost jobs, worked fewer hours and lost pay rises.
Since 2012 household income has recovered slowly, climbing to $75,731 in 2014, still 0.7% worse than in 2009, meaning typical Australian families are no better off than they were five years ago.
Read the full article here: SMH Article