Job losses continue to increase, signalling a hit to house prices

PHOTO: House prices are likely to take a hit as Australians continue to lose jobs due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Photo: iStock

Australian jobs have taken a 7.5 per cent hit since the first coronavirus shutdowns began, new data has shown, pointing to low consumer confidence and falling property prices, according to experts.

People aged 20 and under, and 70 and over, had the highest percentages of job loss between March 14 and April 18, with 18.5 and 13.9 per cent respectively reporting job losses, Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday showed.

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Twenty-somethings saw the next largest percentage of job losses at 10.3 per cent and those aged between 30 and 69 saw smaller drops in employment – between 4.1 and 5.5 per cent.

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said while the age brackets where people were most likely to buy a house – typically middle-aged – had a less dramatic rate of job losses than the older and younger cohort, the numbers were still significant.

“A 5 per cent fall in jobs is kind of a doubling of the unemployment rate among those people, which is the worst recession we’ve had for at least 30 years,” Mr Wiltshire said.

“Yes, they’re less affected, so they’ll probably be more likely on the rebound to be more active in the housing market, but it’s a big rise in unemployment and it’s not finished yet.”

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