HILDA: Typical Australian household no better-off than 2009

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The 2020 Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey has been released, which follows the lives of more than 17,000 Australians each year.

A key finding from this year’s report is that real median household disposable income was lower in 2018 ($81,310) than it was in 2009 ($82,236):

The HILDA survey also provides real equivalised income, which measures material living standards by adjusting household disposable income for the household’s ‘needs’. This measure has risen marginally from $49,345 in 2009 to $49,484 in 2018:

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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.