Australians are having children later, people are spending more money on childcare, and men do more exercise than women.
These are just some of the findings from the long-running Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, or Hilda, released on Wednesday by the University of Melbourne, that also found changes in home ownership and in the wealth of Australians.
Some of the survey’s other interesting findings include:
People are spending more of their money on childcare
This is unlikely to be news to anyone with children, but people who use childcare are spending more on it, according to the survey.
To check if the trend was due to wealthier households spending more, the researchers adjusted the figures to show childcare expenditure as a proportion of income, split into poorer and wealthier households. The upward trend remained. So why is the expenditure on childcare increasing?
As Adam Morton writes in the Age, possible reasons include: more children spending time in childcare; children spending more time in childcare; and an increase in childcare cost due to various commercial factors, including the increased privatisation of the sector.
Single parents have it worse
According to the Hilda survey, becoming a single parent has a stark impact on the wellbeing of the parent, with women who became single parents reporting declines in a large number of areas, including wages, employment, life satisfaction and mental health. The measurements for men were less reliable due to smaller sample sizes, but showed decreases in similar areas with the exception of financial stress.
Partners (predominantly men) who do not retain primary care of the child reported declining life satisfaction, regularity of exercise, and mental and physical health, as well as increased drinking. But they do benefit from an increase in income.
People are waiting longer to have children
Enumerating another well-known trend, the Hilda survey shows people are waiting until later in life to have children. From 2012 to 2014, the peak age group for women having children was 30–34, whereas from 2002 to 2004 the peak age group was 25–29.
Home ownership is declining, but the rate of owning an investment property is increasing
The Hilda survey found that home ownership among people under 45, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, had “decreased quite dramatically” since the report was first produced in 2001.
There has been a corresponding increase in the ownership of investment properties, holiday homes and other commercial properties, with the largest increase from 2002 to 2006.
Men report exercising more, with surprising results for drinkers and smokers
The Hilda survey asked for an estimate of minutes spent in vigorous activity (physical labour or aerobic exercise), moderate activity (carrying light loads or light exercise) and walking per week. Time spent in vigorous activity was higher for males than females, and declined with age for both genders.
The survey also looked at factors associated with physical activity and found a few obvious associations, such as age, job type and hours worked. Intriguingly, there were a few less obvious associations, such as male smokers exercising more than non-smokers and men who consume 15-28 alcoholic drinks per week exercising more than those who drink less.
Survey economist Roger Wilkins emphasised the self-reported nature of the measurement, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: “I guess we all want to come across as fit and active and perhaps that’s more important for men than women.”
