Working Aussie households hammered by cost of living

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its cost-of-living indices for the December quarter, with working employee households hammered especially hard by rising mortgage costs:

According to the ABS:

• All household types recorded their largest annual rise on record. The Pensioner and beneficiary household series commenced in 2008. The series for the remaining four household types commenced in 1999. Employee households recorded the largest annual rise (+9.3%). The last time the CPI recorded an annual rise of 9.3% was in 1987.
• Annually, Food and non-alcoholic beverages was the main contributor for three of the household types: Age pensioners, Other government transfer recipients, and Pensioner and beneficiary. The rise in Food was driven by Meals out and takeaway food and Fruit and vegetables, due to rising input costs, minimum wage rises, and unfavourable weather events earlier in 2022.
• Mortgage interest charges was the main contributor for Employee households and rose strongly over the year, reflecting increased home loan interest rates. Excluding Mortgage interest charges, the index for this household type would have risen 6.8% through the year.
• Self-funded retirees recorded the next largest annual rise (+7.6%) with Recreation and culture being the main contributor. Holiday travel and accommodation makes up a higher proportion of expenditure for Self-funded retirees compared to the other household types and rose over the year.
• Age pensioner households recorded the smallest annual rise (+7.3%) due to having a lower proportion of expenditure for Mortgage interest charges.