Proportion of median income required to pay a typical mortgage on a recently purchased home (%)
Source: ANZ Corelogic housing affordability report, March 2022 Note: Assumes owner has borrowed 80% of median dwelling value and is paying the average discounted variable mortgage for a term of 25 years. Percentage of median gross annual household income required to pay median rent on a new lease
This graph shows that the proportion of median household disposable income required to service a typical home mortgage rose from 27% to 41% between 2003 and 2021.
Net saving per capita
[infogram id="_/5XProYwUsMtRCj1shL9h" prefix="51m" format="interactive" title="Net saving per capita"] As outlined in our previous report on the impact of COVID on income inequality and poverty, public income supports such as JobKeeper Payment and the Coronavirus Supplement boosted the incomes of many low-income households while COVID restrictions reduced spending on such items as holidays, entertainment and eating out35. The result was a sharp increase in overall household saving.
Profile of household wealth in different countries in 2020 (% of all wealth)
[infogram id="_/f3Nw4ZTP5tFUR1C9g8lq" prefix="HEO" format="interactive" title="Profile of household wealth in different countries in 2020"] A relatively high proportion of household wealth in Australia (58%) is in non-financial assets - mainly housing - compared with a global average of 46%.
Change in number of workers employed by occupation (000s)
[infogram id="_/bBqJUhZjbY5hn57ajml8" prefix="2Db" format="interactive" title="Figure 7_changes in employment by pay level"] This graph shows that, from August 2020 to August 2021 (centre bars): * The number of people employed in lower-paid occupations rose by 71,000; * The number in middle-paid occupations fell by 5,000; * The number in higher-paid occupations rose by 251,000.
Percentage of people receiving JobKeeper and COVID Supplements by household income groups
This figure shows shows how COVID income support payments were distributed among households ranked by income in 2020.
JobKeeper Payment mainly lifted the incomes of middle income-households at risk of losing their jobs, and Coronavirus Supplement lifted the incomes of low-income households on income support payments.
Towards the end of the recession in September 2020:
* Around three quarters (76%) of JobKeeper Payments went to the middle 60%;
* A similar proportion of the Coronavirus Supplement (70%) went to the lowest 40%.
* The highest 20% received just 19% of the value of JobKeeper Payment and 6% of that of Coronavirus Supplement.
Impact of past recessions on household after-tax incomes
[infogram id="_/WP65tikBeaoXuw5ASAS9" prefix="QJJ" format="interactive" title="Figure 3_Impact of past recessions no household after-tax incomes (% change over each period)"] This figure shows changes in household after-tax incomes brought about by the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s (left and right-hand clusters).
Changes in average before-tax income of households ranked by private income March-December 2020
[infogram id="_/qxrvFdhIeW4cATxHFZv7" prefix="HvQ" format="interactive" title="Figure 2_Change in average before tax income of households"] This graph shows that, from March 2020 to December 2020: * The average incomes of the lowest 20% income group (who mainly relied on pensions) rose by 8% ($56pw); * Those of the next 20% (mainly low-paid workers and families on income support) rose by 11% ($144pw); * The average incomes of the middle 20% rose by 3% ($53pw) and those of the next 20% rose by 2% ($67pw); * In contrast, the average incomes of the highest 20% fell by 4% ($230pw).
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 financial year of 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. [infogram id="_/CUd6TdpsI9SKISE7jjjj" prefix="tCS" format="interactive" title="2023 Income distribution of people in households by main income source"] 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%).
Poverty among JobSeeker recipients with and without COVID income supports (% of all people in poverty)
[infogram id="_/d9m5XpstgFSL136m2uMH" prefix="mcM" format="interactive" title="Figure 9_poverty among JobSeeker recipients, with and without COVID income supports"] This graph shows that poverty among people on working age income support payments fell sharply in the recession. It shows that poverty among people in households on Jobseeker Payment fell by four-fifths, from 76% in 2019 to 15% in June 2020.