Melbourne University’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) has published a survey into the state of the country's workforce, publishing results in earning satisfaction, descrimination and job retention rates.

 

The survey has found that a couple with one child is more likely to be satisfied than not with a household income of $78,543, whereas couples with two children responded that a ninimum of $77,263 would be necessary to maintain satisfaction. 

 

Survey Deputy Director Associate Professor Roger Wilkins said that the latest survey figures, which now run from 2001 to 2008, show that people’s opinions of their financial wellbeing are on the slide. “Up until 2007, there were slight increases in the proportions of people reporting being ‘prosperous’, ‘very comfortable’ or ‘reasonably comfortable’.”

 

“However, in what’s probably a reflection of the early effects of the GFC that began in late 2008, our figures begin to show a reverse of this sentiment, as far more people reported feeling ‘poor’ or ‘just getting along’ when it came to their household financial situation.”

 

“Overall though, approximately 40 per cent of individuals never perceive themselves as being poor, while a third of survey respondents never give a rating of 50 per cent or less for the satisfaction of their financial situation.”

 

HILDA’s report also found that the number of involuntary job dismissals have ‘fallen dramatically over the past eight years’, finding that male employees were up to 30 per cent more likely to be dismissed than female employees.

 

“We also found that extroverted people, and particularly those who are open to new experiences, are more likely to be dismissed,” said Associate Professor Wilkins. “However the current data ends just before the global financial crisis took hold across Australia, so we expect to see more dismissals in next years results.”

 

However perceived job discrimination remains a problem, according to Associate Professor Wilkins, with the number of employees reporting discrimination on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or parenting responsibilities up to 8.3 per cent. “These people end up earning close to two dollars an hour less and are almost two times more likely to leave their current role voluntarily.”

 

“However their life satisfaction level is almost equivalent to those who believe they haven’t been discriminated against.”

 

“We’ve also found that age is a key influence in discrimination. For example, being young (15-24) or old (55 and over) increases the probability of being subject to discrimination in the job, however it is only being old that increases the probability of being discriminated against when applying for a job.”

 

The full report can be downloaded here