Making ends meet

VALLEY'S average annual income is $34,534. How far does this stretch for a homeowner or renter?

How the Valley stacks up.

TIMES are tough in the Clarence with the average annual income sitting at $34,534.

The Daily Examiner decided to calculate the expenses of the average earner against other local data and see what was possible in terms of living standards.

The average earner would still be able to meet the normal mortgage repayment, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics says is $17,610 per year, however, things would be pretty tight.

After meeting the average mortgage repayment, insuring the house, registering and insuring the car, the average earner would have just $11,535.54 or about $220 per week to pay for fuel, food and all other expenses.

Renters faired a little better as the median rent was about $6000 less than paying the average mortgage.

The Clarence lagged a long way behind Australia's richest suburb, Double Bay in Sydney, where the average income was $129,116.

People in regional and rural areas consistently earn less than their metropolitan counterparts, with the average income in Sydney sitting at $55,010, $13,791 more than the average in regional areas of $41,537.

Grafton manager of NORTEC Employment, Rod Huxley, said the low average incomes were not surprising considering the lack of available work for unskilled labourers.

"There used to be a lot of unskilled jobs for people in the timber industry and in a few other industries but now they mostly want people with experience," he said.

The one skill shortage area Mr Huxley identified was in hospitality.

"We are always looking for qualified chefs and we have two positions in that area listed at the moment."

media/pdf/home_owner_pie_chart.pdf

media/pdf/renters_pie_chart.pdf

Originally published as Making ends meet