New research indicates a slight improvement in the financial wellbeing of Australians towards the end of 2020. The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator revealed that the nation's financial wellbeing score rose to 58.2 in December from 56.6 in November on a scale of zero to 100.
This increase of 1.6 points reflects Australia's quicker-than-expected recovery from its first economic recession in three decades. Despite this overall improvement, the data also shows shifts within different segments of the population's financial wellbeing.
The 'Struggling' and 'Getting By' segments have expanded, while the 'No Worries' segment has decreased. All states and territories reported lower scores due to COVID-19's impact on overall financial wellbeing.
The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator is derived from an annual survey conducted by Roy Morgan, involving 50,000 Australians. This survey evaluates financial behaviors alongside psychological, social, and economic factors influencing financial wellbeing. ANZ publishes this indicator quarterly.
Future reports will continue to track COVID-19's effects on financial wellbeing, with ongoing concerns for communities heavily affected, such as small business owners and those working in vulnerable industries.
The full Financial Wellbeing Indicator report is available on bluenotes.