New data shows life satisfaction has hit a record low, dipping below levels seen during COVID-19 lockdowns. Source: SBS News.
More than one in three Australians are finding life difficult or very difficult on their current income, according to new poll data from the Australian National University.
The research also found that life satisfaction among Australians has fallen to its lowest recorded level in the ANUpoll series, reaching levels below even the depths of the pandemic lockdowns.
The ANUpoll, which has tracked wellbeing and economic attitudes since 2019, found average life satisfaction has dropped to 6.22 on a scale of zero to 10.
The previous low was 6.52, recorded in April 2020, when much of the country was in lockdown.
Nicholas Biddle, head of the ANU School of Politics and International Relations, said the current decline showed a country under “considerable strain”.
“Life satisfaction is now lower than it was at any time in the 2020s – lower than during COVID lockdowns and lower than when we experienced quite high levels of inflation a couple of years after COVID,” Professor Biddle said.
The poll surveyed 3662 adult Australians in March, tracking wellbeing outcomes, economic anxiety, democratic attitudes, and measures of social cohesion.
More than one in three Australians – or 34.9 per cent – said they are finding it difficult or very difficult to get by on their current income, a record high for the survey.
The proportion of employed Australians who believe they could lose their job has reached 26.8 per cent – on par with levels recorded during the pandemic – even though the unemployment rate sits at 4.3 per cent.
Just over 30 per cent of workers are concerned that machines or computer programs will replace their jobs, a concern that has nearly doubled since 2018.
For the first time in the ANUpoll series, more Australians are dissatisfied with the direction of the country than satisfied, with 54 per cent saying they were not very or not at all satisfied, compared to 46 per cent who were.
Nearly three in five Australians (59.1 per cent) believe life was better 50 years ago. A similar proportion (58.5 per cent) expect it to be worse in 50 years’ time.
The gap between those who think today’s children will have worse lives than their own versus better has also widened to 46 percentage points, up from 19 in 2008.
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A country under ‘strain’: Australians’ life satisfaction hits record low (SBS News)
