Australians less worried about job security - NAB

In new data released today by NAB Economics, costs of living are the biggest causes of anxiety, while Australians are less worried about job security according to NAB’s Consumer Anxiety Index.

Key Quotes

“The cost of living (64.2 points) still weighs most heavily on consumers, and also highlights the big disconnect between low levels of economy-wide inflation and consumer focussed costs. More than one in five (22 per cent) consumers reported ‘high’ levels of concern over the cost of living.”

“In contrast, job security (41.9 points) caused the least stress, which likely reflected strong employment growth in the first half of the year and improved labour market conditions also seen in NAB’s Business Survey for some time.”

“NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster said low anxiety helped drive positive spending behaviours and while more consumers spent on essentials (particularly utilities), fewer cut back on non-essentials such as dining out at cafes and restaurants, staying at hotels, and buying theatre and concert tickets.”

“When it comes to what people are actually spending on, we noted a big increase in the number of consumers spending more on ‘essentials’, particularly utilities and groceries,” Mr Oster said.

Mr Oster also recognised that the Index - which measures concerns about future spending and savings arising from job security, health, retirement, cost of living and government polices - rose slightly in Q2 2017, reversing the trend of falling anxiety since mid-2015.

“Overall consumer anxiety is still well below levels reported at the same time last year (60.2 points) and comfortably below its long-term average (60.8 points),” Mr Oster said.

“This reflects heightened concerns about health, cost of living and government policy, which offset lower worries relating to retirement funding and job security.”

“Overall, 7 in 10 (70 per cent) consumers reported ‘low’ or ‘very low’ levels of anxiety over their job security. As a result, anxiety levels relating to job security now sits at a new survey low.”