Some of Australia's wealthiest areas have recorded the highest increases in people moving onto unemployment payments during the coronavirus pandemic, analysis from the Parliamentary Library shows.
Overall, it says the number of people receiving income support payments doubled between December last year and May this year, rising from around 820,000 to 1.6 million.
It has also broken down the figures by federal electorates and used several different measures to compare the situation across the country.
Relatively wealthy electorates in Sydney's east and north top the list for the largest percentage increases in the number of people receiving JobSeeker (or the old Newstart or Sickness Allowance payments) since the pandemic began.
Wentworth had the largest jump, followed by Warringah and Bradfield.
It's important to note though that those electorates had quite small numbers of JobSeeker recipients to begin with, meaning they're coming off a low base.
| Electorate | State | Newstart and Sickness Allowance - Dec 2019 | JobSeeker Payment - May 2020 | Increase Dec 2019 - May 2020 | % change |
| Wentworth | NSW | 1,090 | 5,688 | 4,598 | +422% |
| Warringah | NSW | 1,031 | 4,814 | 3,783 | +367% |
| Bradfield | NSW | 977 | 4,331 | 3,354 | +343% |
| North Sydney | NSW | 1,080 | 4,785 | 3,705 | +343% |
| Mackellar | NSW | 1,256 | 5,093 | 3,837 | +306% |
| Kooyong | Vic | 1,212 | 4,842 | 3,630 | +300% |
| Mitchell | NSW | 1,328 | 5,160 | 3,832 | +289% |
| Reid | NSW | 2,217 | 8,071 | 5,854 | +264% |
| Higgins | Vic | 1,766 | 6,360 | 4,594 | +260% |
| Berowra | NSW | 1,137 | 4,088 | 2,951 | +260% |
The figures tell a different story when you look at the electorates with the highest increases in terms of the total numbers.
Moncrieff in south-east Queensland recorded the biggest jump, with the number of recipients increasing from nearly 6,000 people in December to just over 15,000 in May — a rise of around 9,000 people.
The western Sydney seat of Blaxland came in second, with an increase of more than 8,000, followed closely by Calwell, to the north-west of Melbourne.
| Electorate | State | Newstart and Sickness Allowance - Dec 2019 | JobSeeker payment - May 2020 | Increase Dec 2019 - May 2020 | % change |
| Moncrieff | Qld | 5,951 | 15,037 | 9,086 | +153% |
|
Blaxland
|
NSW | 6,446 | 14,581 | 8,135 | +126% |
|
Calwell
|
Vic | 8,422 | 16,534 | 8,112 | +96% |
|
Fadden
|
Qld | 5,640 | 13,618 | 7,978 | +141% |
|
Watson
|
NSW | 4,955 | 12,795 | 7,840 | +158% |
|
Lalor
|
Vic | 5,468 | 13,300 | 7,832 | +143% |
|
Richmond
|
NSW | 6,410 | 14,155 | 7,745 | +121% |
|
McPherson
|
Qld | 3,977 | 11,598 | 7,621 | +192% |
|
Leichhardt
|
Qld | 9,755 | 17,372 | 7,617 | +78% |
| Melbourne | Vic | 4,473 | 11,939 | 7,466 | +167% |
Another way of comparing electorates is to look at the increases in the percentage of the working age population — people aged 15 to 64 — receiving either JobSeeker or Youth Allowance.
Moncrieff is at the top of the table again, rising from 5.1 per cent of people receiving payments in in December to 13 per cent in May.
Richmond in north-eastern New South Wales had a 7.7 per cent rise, coming in just ahead of McPherson in south-east Queensland.
| Electorate | State | Newstart and Sickness Allowance - Dec 2019 | JobSeeker + Youth Allowance Payment - May 2020 | Percentage point difference Dec 2019 to May 2020 |
| Moncrieff | Qld | 5.1% | 13.0% | +7.9 |
| Richmond | NSW | 6.2% | 13.9% | +7.7 |
| McPherson | Qld | 3.8% | 11.4% | +7.6 |
| Calwell | Vic | 7.1% | 14.1% | +6.9 |
| Leichardt | Qld | 8.2% | 14.8% | +6.5 |
| Wide Bay | Qld | 8.2% | 14.5% | +6.3 |
| Fadden | Qld | 4.3% | 10.5% | +6.2 |
| Hinkler | Qld | 10.4% | 16.6% | +6.2 |
| Lalor | Vic | 4.3% | 10.5% | +6.1 |
| Fairfax | Qld | 4.5% | 10.6% | +6.1 |
