The Melbourne Institute’s latest ‘Taking the Pulse of the Nation’ survey shows that 53% of Australians now expect the economic impact of the coronavirus to last for at least 12 months, down from 57% in the previous week. However, 24% of respondents said they are feeling moderately or very financially stressed, up from 21% previously. Likewise, the proportion of respondents who reported being financially comfortable fell from 45% to 43%:
Melbourne Institute lead researcher Professor Guay Lim said unemployment was the clear driver behind the change.
“Closer analysis of the employed and unemployed within the survey data revealed that the proportion of unemployed who reported they were financially stressed increased from 18 per cent to 25 per cent, while the proportion of employed reporting being financially comfortable increased from 43 per cent to 47 per cent,” Professor Lim said.
