|
Overwieght, marrying less and buying more AUSTRALIANS are more likely to be overweight, less likely to marry, and consuming more goods and services, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) flagship publication, Australian Social Trends 2007.This publication provides a snapshot of life in Australia and how it is changing over time. Australia's families Australia's total fertility rate fell to a historic low (1.73 babies per woman) in 2001. Since then Australia's total fertility rate has increased, reaching 1.81 babies per woman in 2005 - the highest level recorded since 1995. Women aged 30 years and over and living in more advantaged areas are driving this increase. The probability of marrying has declined. If current rates were to continue, 31 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women would never marry. At the same time, the probability of marriages ending in divorce has increased. One-third (33 per cent) of marriages which took place in 2000-02 could be expected to end in divorce, compared to 28 per cent of marriages in 1985-87. In 2004-06 one in five children (20 per cent) were in one-parent families. These families are at a higher risk of disadvantage. In 2003-04 almost half (49 per cent) of one-parent families with children under 15 had both low income and low wealth, compared with 11 per cent of couple families with children of the same age. Work and family in Australia The increased proportion of women working since the 1990s has contributed to increases in Australia's labour force participation rate, up from 74 per cent in 1990 to 76 per cent in 2005 for people aged 15-64 years. Australia's labour force participation rates were above the OECD average (70 per cent) and similar to the U.S. (75 per cent) and the U.K. (76 per cent) for 2005. The Australian labour force participation rate for women of child-bearing age (15-44 years) rose from 59 per cent to 71 per cent between 1980 and 2005. One type of support to help mothers combine paid work and family is access to leave. In 2005, female employees using leave (either paid or unpaid) for the birth and care of their baby used an average of 34 weeks of leave in total. For those using paid leave, the average length of this leave was 12 weeks. Just over one-in-four female employees (27 per cent) did not use any leave for the birth and care of their baby with most of this group permanently leaving their jobs. Australia's household income and consumption Goods and services generally became more affordable between 1985-86 and 2005-06. This is because per person increases in household disposable income (up 5.1 per cent per year between 1985-86 and 2005-06) and household net worth (up 6.6 per cent per year between June 1989 and June 2006) both increased faster than all groups consumer price inflation (3.7 per cent per year between 1985-86 and 2005-06). While many goods and services have become more affordable - including motor vehicles, clothing and footwear and household appliances - others, such as education and hospital and medical services, have become less affordable because price rises for these services have outpaced increases in income and wealth. As household income has increased so has household spending. Since 1985-86, real (i.e. adjusted for inflation) household final consumption expenditure per person has increased on average by 2 per cent each year (from $17,500 in 1985-86 to $26,100 in 2005-06). The largest increases have been on communication services and goods for recreation and culture. Spending on cigarettes and tobacco has fallen. |
About Us | Our Publications | Shopping | Visa Enquiries | Information Days | Links | Advertising | Privacy Policy
© 2005 Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd.