SYDNEY - Consumer confidence in Australia has slumped to its lowest point since 2003 thanks to a pessimistic outlook on employment and quality of life, a survey has found.
MasterCard's half-yearly reading of consumer confidence, MasterIndex, showed the overall Australian consumer index for the first half of 2007
had dropped to 45.3, down 1.2 index points from the last reading six months ago.
The drop marked the sixth consecutive fall for the index, with the overall confidence currently 4.5 points down on the corresponding point in 2006.
Since the index began in 1993, the average overall score has been significantly higher at 56.5 points.
Dragging sentiment down this half-year was the notable crash in the quality of life category, which fell a startling 14 points from six months ago, down to 25.5 points.
The alarming drop comes just two years after the category reached its all-time high of 81 points in the first half of 2004.
Also affecting the overall figures was the rock-bottom confidence in employment outlook and the wider economy, which lagged at 36.1 and 36 points respectively.
On the positive side, Australians remain optimistic about their regular income, which fell only slightly from 73.3 to 71.1 points.
Stock market sentiment was also relatively strong, registering at 57.1 points.
MasterCard's Asia-Pacific economic adviser, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, said the index had been affected by a worsening work-life balance.
"A plausible explanation of the significant fall in the outlook on quality of life, in spite of a strong outlook in personal income, could be Australians' higher expectation today in wanting more out of life," he said.
"But (they are) finding it more difficult to achieve due to the demand for longer working hours and more intense competition in the job market."
- AAP
