Snapshot of Australian households unearths changes in how we live

Media Release, Thursday 17 March 2005

A University of Melbourne survey has delved into the psyche of Australian households and uncovered information on retirement intentions of older Australians, the incidence of parenting stress and the persistence of low income and joblessness.

Results of the third annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), commissioned by the Australian Government, was today released by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne in conjunction with Australian Government’s Department of Family and Community Services.

The longitudinal survey is tracking about 8000 Australian households to collect data in three main areas: economic and subjective well-being, labour market dynamics and family dynamics.

Key findings in the 2004 report include:

*RELATIONSHIPS
- Many people report high levels of marital satisfaction prior to marital break-up.
- Men are much more likely to be left shocked by marriage break-up as women often initiate separations.
- 96% of people who married in 2001 were still married in 2003.

*RETIREMENT
- Over 40% of people retire by their late 50s.
- Retirement was entirely voluntary for just 54% of retirees.
- Four in five Australians want to retire by 65 years of age, and two in three by age 60.
-Most people expect to be comfortably well-off in retirement, but their wealth holdings suggest many are overly optimistic.

*PARENTING STRESS AND WORK-FAMILY BALANCE STRESS
-13.5% of single parents reported high parenting stress compared to 7.6% of partnered parents.
- Interestingly, parents living in de facto relationships were much more likely to experience work-family stress than married partners.
- Only 28.7% of mothers and 20.3% of fathers with high parenting stress reported high levels of relationship satisfaction.
- 31% of fathers and 45 % of mothers who reported high parenting stress in 2001 continued to have high levels.

*POVERTY
- A household is defined as income poor if it has a disposable income which is below 50% of median or typical income.
-Less than 4% of Australians are measured as living in relative poverty in all three surveys (2001, 2002 and 2003).
-13.6% of individuals were poor in 2001, 12.4% in 2002 and 11.8% in 2003.
-Only 6.4% of individuals were poor in two of the three years.

*WORFORCE TRANSITIONS
-53% of the population was employed at all three survey dates (2001, 2002 and 2003)
-27 % of the population was neither working or looking for work during all three surveys.
- Just 0.5% of people were looking for work at all three survey dates
- Men spent 87% of their time in work, 4% unemployed and 9% not in the labour force.
-Women spent 68% of time working, 4% unemployed and 28% not in the labour force.
-Over 40% of all casual workers are in non-casual jobs two years on.

*JOBLESS HOUSEHOLDS
-Single mothers represent over half of all prime-age (25-59 years old) persons defined as jobless for three consecutive years with a persistent joblessness rate of 27.9%
-One in 20 prime aged persons (25-59 years old) is jobless for three straight years.

HILDA project director, Professor Mark Wooden, said the survey, which is the only one of its type conducted in Australia, will help researchers to understand how Australian families are affected by change.

“A key advantage of the HILDA Survey is that, by following the same people over time, it can tell us whether problems – such as poverty and joblessness – are transitory or whether the same people tend to suffer the same difficulties year in, year out”, he said.


For interviews with HILDA Project Director Professor Mark Wooden or HILDA Project Deputy Director Associate Professor Bruce Headey contact Rebecca Trott, University of Melbourne Media Unit on 8344 7220 or 0416 193 577 or Laura Bell, Melbourne Institute Communications coordinator on (03) 8344 2154.


More Information:

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research
Laura ABell
Phone : 03 8344 2154
Fax : 03 8344 2111
Email : labell@unimelb.edu.au
Web : www.melbourneinstitute.com

Media Officer
Rebecca Trott
Phone : 03 8344 7220
Fax : 03 9349 4135
Mobile : 0416 193 577
Email : rtrott@unimelb.edu.au
Web : http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/