Coronavirus: Alone at home no picnic for families

More than a fifth of Australians say feeling lonely is a source of stress during COVID-19 lockdowns, a survey shows.

The COVID-19 crisis has sparked an epidemic of loneliness, with more than a fifth of Australians saying feeling lonely was a source of personal stress in April as strict social-distancing measures kept friends and family apart.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics special survey into the social and economic effects of the pandemic on households revealed the health crisis has been a source of widespread anxiety for the community, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they had experienced one or more “personal stressors” over the month to May 4 as a result of the virus.

Women were much more likely to feel lonely — 28 per cent versus 16 per cent for men.

The survey also showed nearly half of working Australians said they were working from home.

And just as loneliness was more prevalent among women, so female workers were much more likely to be doing their job in their house rather than in an office: 56 per cent compared with 38 per cent for men. The vast majority, or 89 per cent, of those who weren’t working from home said they couldn’t do so because of the types of jobs they had.

The survey showed flagging, if still overwhelming, adherence to social-distancing rules: from 98 per cent in early April to 94 per cent a month later.

Feeling lonely was the most cited source of tension, but just shy of one in five Australians said maintaining a healthy lifestyle was also a worry.

One in five Australians said they were eating more snack foods, such as lollies and chips, compared to four weeks earlier, balanced somewhat by 13 per cent of respondents who had upped their fruit and vegetables intake.

Close to 40 per cent said they were cooking more, reflected in a 30 per cent drop in takeaway or delivered meals.

While health worries were more widespread, financial stresses remain front and centre for many Australian households.

 

In particular, 13 per cent of respondents who lived in a home owned with a mortgage reported at least one member of the household had difficulty in meeting repayments on the home they lived in, or for an investment property.

There was tentative evidence that the health crisis’s devastating impact on the labour market may have peaked in April.

The April labour force survey revealed a 600,000 drop in the number of employed, as the COVID-19 economic crisis left about 2.7 million Australians, or one in five workers, without work or on reduced hours.

The proportion of respondents to the household survey who said they were working paid hours moved three percentage points higher to 59 per cent over the four weeks to early May, after slumping from 64 per cent to 56 per cent over the month to early April.

Similarly, the percentage reporting they were not working any paid hours fell to 5.3 per cent in early May from 7.6 per cent a month earlier.

The ABS warned that given the relatively small sample size of 1000 people, improvement in the jobs picture was not statistically reliable. Nonetheless, “it may indicate some improvement in labour market conditions”.

The ABS’s next payroll jobs and wages report, which draws on tax office data and will provide a more comprehensive insight into the jobs market, will be released on Tuesday.