![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/c9cb6e9322563a8d3c9ab980cb9bb969.jpeg\")
Australians delaying medical care<\/p>\nLess than half of Australians are comfortable with their household finances as the number of people struggling rises and a record number of workers take on multiple jobs to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
The latest News24.com.au Pulse \/ YouGov poll found just 39 per cent of Australians described their household financial situation as comfortable.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 29 per cent said they were neither comfortable nor struggling. But almost one in three \u2013 32 per cent \u2013 said their household was struggling financially.<\/p>\n
That figure included 23 per cent who were \u201cstruggling somewhat\u201d and nine per cent struggling \u201ca lot\u201d.<\/p>\n
The proportion struggling has climbed two points since January 28, from 30 to 32 per cent, while the number who are comfortable has remained stuck at 39 per cent.<\/p>\n
There were significant divides across income, housing and demographic groups, with renters and working-class Australians reporting particularly severe financial pressure.<\/p>\n
More than half of renters \u2013 53 per cent \u2013 said they were struggling, compared with 32 per cent of mortgage holders and just 18 per cent of outright homeowners.<\/p>\n
Among households earning less than $50,000, 55 per cent said they were struggling, compared with 19 per cent of households earning at least $150,000.<\/p>\n
Women were also more likely to report financial difficulty than men, with 37 per cent struggling compared with 26 per cent of men.<\/p>\n
Rate hike threat hangs over households<\/p>\n
The findings come as Australians face the prospect of another interest rate hike when the Reserve Bank board meets on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The official cash rate currently sits at 4.35 per cent after 75 basis points of increases this year, with an 80 per cent chance of a rate hike when the RBA meets.<\/p>\n
All four major banks expect the RBA to increase the cash rate to 4.60 per cent at its September meeting.<\/p>\n
RBA Governor Michele Bullock stressed this week that she was not pre-empting the board’s decision, but warned that upside risks to inflation were materialising.<\/p>\n
Australians delaying medical care<\/p>\n
The financial squeeze has also shown up in Australians’ access to healthcare, with 21 per cent saying they or a family member had delayed medical treatment because of its cost or difficulty accessing care.<\/p>\n
Another 20 per cent said they had struggled to pay for medical treatment but ultimately received the care they needed.<\/p>\n
Just 59 per cent said they or a family member had always been able to obtain the affordable medical care they needed.<\/p>\n
Record number working multiple jobs<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the number of multiple job-holders reached a record 1,049,100 in the June quarter.<\/p>\n
That amounts to the equivalent to 6.9 per cent of employed Australians \u2013 roughly one in every 14 workers.<\/p>\n
The multiple-job rate had remained between five and six per cent for the entire period from 1994 to 2019, before climbing to its current record level.<\/p>\n
The number of multiple job-holders jumped 6.6 per cent in the June quarter alone and was 11 per cent higher than a year earlier.<\/p>\n
Research commissioned by Credit24<\/a> and supplied by Primara Research<\/a> found workers aged between 20 and 44 accounted for 88 per cent of the increase in multiple job-holding.<\/p>\n A record 11.2 per cent of workers aged 20 to 24 now hold multiple jobs, along with nine per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds and 6.3 per cent of workers aged 35 to 44.<\/p>\n The 25-to-34 age group has experienced the steepest increase since before the pandemic, with its multiple-job rate rising 2.4 percentage points since June 2019 \u2014 a 36 per cent increase relative to its starting point.<\/p>\n Women account for a majority of Australians working multiple jobs, with 580,100 women holding more than one position.<\/p>\n The ABS puts the multiple-job rate among employed women at a record 7.7 per cent, compared with 6.2 per cent for men.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Credit24 Consumer Finance Analyst Lee Carney said the figures suggested the increase was no longer confined to young workers picking up additional casual shifts.<\/p>\n \u201cOur analysis shows the fastest growth is coming from people well past their first job, workers a decade or more into their careers,\u201d Mr Carney said.<\/p>\n \u201cA second income at that stage of life often looks like a response to rising costs, though this data can’t tell us that for any individual household.\u201d<\/p>\n Most Australians juggling multiple jobs were working part-time hours in both, according to the Credit24 analysis.<\/p>\n But those workers collectively worked an average 39.3 hours a week compared with 34.8 hours among people holding a single job.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people juggling two jobs are working part-time hours in both of them, but it adds up to more than a full week, 39.3 hours on average across both jobs, against 34.8 hours for someone with just one,\u201d Mr Carney said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat looks like people topping up their pay packet, whether to pay bills or save for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The ABS figures show secondary jobs grew 11.7 per cent over the year to June, compared with growth of 1.9 per cent in main jobs.<\/p>\n One Nation rises<\/p>\n The findings come as Pauline Hanson\u2019s One Nation has opened up a lead over Labor among millennials and gen X voters.<\/p>\n The latest News24.com.au Pulse \/ YouGov poll put Pauline Hanson\u2019s One Nation on 27 per cent of the primary vote, leading all other political parties.<\/p>\n One Nation slid three points from its previous poll high of 30 per cent, while Labor flatlined on 26 per cent and the Coalition jumped three points to 21 per cent.<\/p>\n The Greens trailed on 14 per cent, while independents attracted six per cent and another five per cent supported other parties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Less than half of Australians are comfortable with their household finances as the number of people struggling 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