Victorians are about the face highly strenuous times, as car manufacturer Holden is preparing to depart and leave thousands wondering how to provide for themselves and their families.
Uncertainty in the country is at an all-time high and anxious Victorians are the most troubled people in Australia.
According to an article on The Guardian, a consumer anxiety survey for the December quarter conducted by the National Australia Bank revealed cost of living as a top concern. However, Holden’s announcement to cease production of cars in Australia by 2017 has contributed greatly to the already grim situation.
Now, with the imminent slow-down of economy, job security is on the fast track to become concern number one.
The National Australia Bank surveyed 2,100 people and the numbers generated from the survey are quite disturbing as the overall consumer anxiety reading has increased by 0.4% to 61.5% for the December quarter.
According to the NAB research results, 47.8% of the surveyed Australians worry about job security, compared with the 45% recorded in the September quarter. Further, 15.9% are anxious about losing their job (13.4% in the September quarter) and 69.7% of the respondents are concerned about the cost of living (71.6% in the September quarter).
“What we saw in terms of people being concerned on the jobs front was a bit of an increase in Victoria,” said Alan Oster, Chief economist at the National Australia Bank.
“We continue to think that with an economy not performing that well … by the end of this year [unemployment] will be something like 6.5%,” said Mr Oster.
Other top worries for Australians include utility bills and the cost of child education. However, only a handful of the respondents listed cost of travel and entertainment as one of the top concerns.
