Survey puts post-boom Perth in gloomy filter

A new survey has shed some light on the impact that the mining downturn has had on households in Perth and Peel, with nearly half of those surveyed saying they don’t expect their quality of life to improve anytime soon.

A survey conducted by market research firm Ipsos and commissioned by the Committee for Perth found nearly 40 per cent of people experienced some form of career disruption, with 72 per cent predicting no real wages growth and 45 per cent unable to see any improvement in their quality of life.

The survey examined 2,000 Perth and Peel residents to understand how they were coping with living in Perth in a post-boom phase.

“The mining, energy and construction boom lasted over a decade and as a community we have forgotten what it is like to live in what would be described as a normal economy,” Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker said.

“Many people expected and were given wage rises every year and saw the value of their assets like a home and shares constantly increase. Post-boom, this just isn’t the case anymore which has made life painful for many.

“That lack of optimism was uncovered in our survey, which found that 60 per cent of household finances are so fragile they would struggle if living costs went up by just 5 per cent and only 38 per cent of the people thought they were better off than they were five years ago.

“A significant number of people still think they’re stuck in a financial rut with 26 per cent of them saying their current income is insufficient for their needs.

“This is a clear indication that policy makers are in for challenging times.”

The survey is part of the committee’s ‘Bigger and Better Beyond the Boom’ two-year research project.

Mrs Fulker said the story of the boom was always one about a two-speed economy, with some reaping the financial benefits of working in the resources sector and those who didn’t but had to cope with the higher cost of living.

“Examining those two groups and who was affected by the end of the boom, we found it was just over a quarter of households with income of $40,000 or less and almost half of households with income of $150,000 or more,” she said.

“What’s interesting is that most higher income households bounced back, 62 per cent of them are better off than they were five years ago, while 70 per cent expect an improvement in their quality of life and 69 per cent believe their job is secure.
 
“When we look at people on lower incomes, only 19 per cent of them are better off than they were five years ago.

“Only 38 per cent expect any improvement in their quality of life, and only 45 per cent think their job is secure.”