NAB’s Australian Consumer Anxiety Index gives some interesting
insight into what drives low consumer confidence and it may not be what you
think.
High profile job losses in Victoria, particularly in the car
industry, have fuelled speculation that job loss fear is a key ingredient in
low consumer confidence but in fact the major factor is the high cost of
living. More than 40% of those interviewed said this was a major cause of
anxiety with government policy running second (36.4%) followed by ability to
fund retirement (31%). Just 16.7% of
those surveyed listed anxiety over job security highly.
As expected the least anxiety was found in the younger and
the older participants with the highest level evident in the 30-49 age group.