One quarter of Aussie workers financially stressed

Advertisement

AMP has released its 2016 Financial Wellness report, which reveals that Australians’ confidence in their finances continued to decrease in the past two years, from 54% of people confident in 2014 compared to 48% in 2016, with 24% of workers now classified as “financially stressed”.

As shown in the below graphic, financial stress is most prevalent in the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and least prevalent in Hobart and Darwin:

ScreenHunter_15577 Oct. 20 10.01

Below are the key findings from the report:

Advertisement
  • Australians say common triggers for their financial stress are bad debt (50% of stressed workers), the need to save for retirement (35%) and providing for their family (34%). Missing bills and making mortgage repayments also contribute to higher levels of financial stress for 32 and 22 per cent of stressed employees, respectively.
  • Brisbane is the most financially stressed city, with 30 per cent of workers in this region experiencing financial stress. This is followed by Adelaide (25%), Perth (23%), Sydney (20%) and Melbourne (19%). Darwin and Hobart are the least financially stressed at 18 and 16 per cent, respectively.
  • Financial stress is highest in the accommodation and food services industry, with 35 per cent of employees stressed. This is followed by healthcare and social services (32%) and administration and support services (31%). Twenty-six per cent of employees in retail jobs say they are financially stressed.
  • The number of employees experiencing financial stress in the mining industry has significantly increased over the past two years, almost tripling from 9 per cent in 2014 to 26 per cent in 2016.
  • Females are more likely to experience financial stress with 30 per cent stating this is the case, compared to 19 per cent of males.
  • Single-parent families are at higher risk of experiencing financial stress (36%) compared to dual-parent households (21%).
  • Casual workers are more than twice as likely to experience financial stress compared to full-time or part time workers. Fifty-four per cent of casual workers are financially stressed compared to 22 and 27 per cent of full time and part time workers, respectively.
  • Low income is strongly correlated with financial stress with 34 per cent of people earning less than $50,000 p.a. under stress. However, the incidence of financial stress for highincome earners, earning $150,000 and above, is increasing with 16 per cent stating they are under financial stress compared with only 8 per cent in 2014.
  • Retirement is a trigger of financial stress, especially among employees aged 50 years and above. Concerns about retirement is the main cause of financial stress for one in five financially-stressed employees aged 50-59 and almost a third of employees aged 60 or above.

Full report here.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.