Recent research reveals that Australians are reporting lower life satisfaction now than during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to new data from ANUpoll conducted by the Australian National University, over a third of Australians are struggling to manage their lives on their present income.

Findings indicate that life satisfaction among Australians has plummeted to unprecedented lows in the ANUpoll’s history, even dipping below the levels experienced during the pandemic lockdowns.

The ANUpoll, which has been monitoring wellbeing and economic perspectives since 2019, shows a significant drop in average life satisfaction, now standing at 6.22 on a scale from zero to 10.

The previous record low was 6.52, observed in April 2020 when lockdowns were widespread across the nation.

Professor Nicholas Biddle, who leads the ANU School of Politics and International Relations, commented that the current downturn reflects a nation facing “considerable strain.”

“Life satisfaction is now lower than it was at any time in the 2020s — so lower than during COVID lockdowns and lower than when we experienced quite high levels of inflation a couple of years after COVID,” Biddle told SBS News.

Financial stress at record levels

The poll surveyed 3,662 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 currently 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.

“That used to be our lowest for the labour market concern … but it’s doubled over the last six to eight years,” Biddle said.

Pessimism about the past and future

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 widened to 46 percentage points, up from 19 in 2008.

Biddle said that pessimism was driven by poorer trade-offs.

“It is true that income has gone up across the income distribution. Life expectancy has gone up,” he said. “But there are objective measures which are noticeably worse — access to the housing market, the cost of education.”

Which Australians are most affected?

Australians with lower levels of education reported higher financial stress and lower confidence in institutions, while those with a university degree reported higher life satisfaction, lower financial stress, greater confidence in institutions and higher satisfaction with democracy.

Those living outside inner metropolitan areas also tended to score lower across a number of indicators, Biddle said, as well as workers born overseas in non-English speaking countries.

“Those who were born overseas and particularly born overseas in a non-English speaking country are really concerned about their own labour market position,” he said.

But as a whole, migrants were more satisfied with the direction of the country and had higher levels of confidence in Australian institutions than Australian-born citizens.

“For those who were born overseas, they might be making a comparison both within Australia as well as to the country from which they migrated,” Biddle said.

Young Australians aged 18 to 24 are slightly more satisfied with their own lives than those in the middle of the age distribution.

“Life satisfaction is slightly higher for those 18 to 24 than those who are around 35 to 54,” Biddle said. “But those who are older than 65 have the highest life satisfaction.”

Democratic values remain strong

Despite the gloom, satisfaction with democracy remained broadly stable, with almost two-thirds of Australians (65.7 per cent) satisfied or very satisfied with the way democracy works.

“It doesn’t mean that it’s perfect, but certainly people need to see that institutions are working and that people in positions of power are kind of responding to their needs,” Biddle said.

It comes as ANU research in March found that fewer than half of young Australians believe democracy is always preferable to other forms of government.

But the key question is whether dissatisfaction with the economy tips into something deeper, Biddle said.

“I think that’s going to be much harder to rectify than if the system is supported, but people just have views on the current policy framework or the current politicians.”

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