Change in household income (as a % of after-tax income in June 2019)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts.
Note: Shows growth in different components of household income from June 2019 (before COVID) to June 2020 (recession), and from June 2020 to June 2021 (recovery), as a percentage of average after-tax household income in June 2019. Income tax is expressed in negative values (so a positive value means a reduction in tax). Note that the value of some components fell. Yellow = an increase would be expected to reduce inequality (more so if darker); Blue = an increase would be expected to increase inequality (more so if darker). Grey = an increase has an indeterminant impact on inequality.
This graph compares changes in the main components of household incomes in the…
Distribution of income by source (percentage of all income)
This chart shows how the distribution of income by source is distributed unevenly across the household income groups. 2019-20: The highest 20% received 59% of all investment income and a substantial share of own-business income and wages (47% and 43% respectively).. At the other end of the scale, the lowest 20% received over a third of all social security income (37%). 2017-18: The highest 20% received two-thirds of all investment income and a large share of own-business income and wages (48% and 44% respectively). At the other end of the scale, the lowest 20% receives over a third of all social security income (38%).
Average before-tax household income ($pw)
This chart shows trends in before-tax incomes for households ranked by private income from March 2020 (just prior to the COVID recession) to June 2020 (when Australia was locked down, and effective unemployment reached 17%) and December 2020 (when most lockdowns had eased and effective unemployment had declined to 7%).
It shows that, from March to December 2020, average before tax incomes:
* Rose from $685pw to $741pw for the lowest 20% of households ranked by income;
* Rose from $2,005pw to $2,058pw for the middle 20%;
* Fell from $5,182 pw to $4,952pw for the highest 20%.
These figures indicate that income inequality declined despite the recession, an extraordinary result given past experience
Changes in employment, hours and wages by percentage from March to June 2020
The spread of COVID-19 and the government-ordered lockdowns to contain it had a sudden and profound impact on employment and earnings in Australia. This graph shows that, in just the three months from March to May 2020, paid hours worked declined by 10% and employment fell by 6%, whilst wages paid were reduced by 8.3%. In June, there was a modest recovery in paid working hours and wages as lockdowns easied, but unemployment and underemployment continued to rise. The unemployment rate stood at 7.4% in June 2020.
Inequality in Australia 2020, Part 2: Who is affected and why
Read the report: Inequality in Australia 2020, Part 2: Who is affected and why Where do you stand in Australia's income distribution? Find out now with our income calculator!
Share of people with different characteristics in the lowest and highest 20% income groups
The first half of this graph shows the share of each group of people with a particular characteristic who are in the lowest 20% income group of households. Older people, single people and sole parents, and those who rely mainly on government income support payments are more likely to be in the lowest 20% income group. The most important influence on incomes is labour force status. People living in households where the household reference person is not in the labour force or is unemployed are much more likely to be in the lowest 20% income group. People living in Tasmania and South Australia are also more likely to be in lowest 20%, along with people living outside capital cities. The second half of this graph shows that those more likely to be in the highest 20% income group are of working-age and in couple households without children (noting that income is adjusted to take account of the costs of children). People employed fulltime are more likely to be in the highest 20%, along…
Average household incomes for different income groups
This table shows the average income of households in Australia, split by groups of 20% by income; as well as the highest and lowest 10% and 5% income groups. 2017-18: Somebody in the highest 20% group lives in a household with over twice the average weekly disposable income of the middle 20% ($4,166 per week compared with $1,884), and five times as much disposable income of a household in the lowest 20% ($753 per week). The average income of the middle 20% ($1,884a week) is two and half times that of the lowest 20% ($753). Income is heavily concentrated at the top: average income in the highest 5% (at $5,796) is more than one-and-a-half times the average of the highest 20%. 2015-16: This shows that somebody in the highest 20% group lived in a household with over twice the average weekly disposable income of the middle 20% ($3,978 per week compared with $1,779), and five times as much disposable income of a household in the lowest 20% ($735 per week). The average income of the middle…