How stressed out are we about housing? Are we happy in our long-term relationships? And are we getting smarter?<\/p>\n
Every year since 2001, researchers have followed the lives of more than 17,000 people across Australia to answer questions like these.<\/p>\n
It’s called the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey<\/a>, and data for 2024 has just been released.<\/p>\n Across nearly a quarter of a century, it gives us a window into how Australian life has changed.<\/p>\n Let’s take a look at some of the ups and downs.<\/p>\n We’ll go one step at a time. Just tap “show me another” to see each insight.<\/p>\n New dads are taking (slightly) longer leave<\/p>\n Across two surveys, both mothers and fathers have taken more paid parental leave.<\/p>\n In 2024, women took more than four months on average, while fathers took just four weeks.<\/p>\n It may not look like it in the chart, but the amount of leave men are taking has actually climbed at a faster rate than for women.<\/p>\n The report says the increases could be due to the federal government extending paid parental leave during this period.<\/p>\n Mental health has declined for young women<\/p>\n As part of the survey, participants’ self-reported mental health is ranked from 0 to 100, and the results show a startling change over time.<\/p>\n On average, mental health for women across most age groups has declined since 2001, particularly for young women aged between 15 and 24.<\/p>\n Older men report better mental wellness<\/p>\n The trend among men is similar, with younger age groups reporting declining mental health across decades, although the levels are overall higher than for women.<\/p>\n But one group, men aged 65 and over, has bucked the general trend and seen an increase in self-reported mental health.<\/p>\n More under-30s are living with their parents<\/p>\n The proportion of young people living with their parents has climbed since the turn of the century.<\/p>\n While the increase was greatest for 18- to 21-year-olds \u2014 lifting to 85 per cent \u2014 it also rose for other younger age brackets.<\/p>\n The researchers say most of this growth had happened up until the mid-2010s, and has remained fairly stable ever since.<\/p>\n Thinking skills have decreased for the youngest<\/p>\n Survey participants have to do two cognitive tests, called backwards digits span (BDS), which involve reciting back long strings of single-digit numbers, and symbol digits modalities (SDM), where symbols are matched to numbers.<\/p>\n In both tests, average performance has declined for Australians aged between 15 and 24.<\/p>\n But older Australians are showing more brain power<\/p>\n While younger people are faring worse, older Australians are performing better on these tests compared to in 2012.<\/p>\n Those aged 45 and older did better on average on both tests across time.<\/p>\n But keep in mind that this chart only displays change within age groups. Overall, the survey shows cognitive ability declines as you get older.<\/p>\n Fewer people are receiving benefits<\/p>\n Across the board, a smaller share of Australians are receiving government income support payments, a broad category which includes the pension, JobSeeker and Youth Allowance.<\/p>\n About 13 per cent of 18- to 64-year-olds received income support, down from 24 per cent in 2001, which researchers attribute to the tightening of eligibility and growth in employment.<\/p>\n Australians aged 65 and over rely more on benefits, given this group encompasses retirees, but that share has also dropped across the survey period.<\/p>\n The education gap is widening<\/p>\n The percentage of people with a university degree has risen across decades, for all ages and genders.<\/p>\n But it has risen much faster for women, with the biggest gender gap emerging in the 35\u201444 age groups.<\/p>\n Men consistently pocket more<\/p>\n Since 2001, average hourly earnings for workers have risen, despite a surge and dip around the COVID-19 pandemic due to changes in working hours.<\/p>\n But the chart indicates the gender pay gap has persisted across the survey period, with women earning less on average.<\/p>\n More Aussies can’t put food on the table<\/p>\n In four years, the share of Australians over 15 who experienced food insecurity increased.<\/p>\n More people reported they could not “obtain adequate food” in the past year due to a lack of money.<\/p>\n Older Aussies struggle less with ‘problematic’ social media use<\/p>\n To determine “problematic” social media use, participants answer questions that capture their preoccupation with and negative emotions when using online platforms.<\/p>\n The percentage of people above the “at-risk” threshold was greatest for teenagers, but steadily declined across older ages.<\/p>\n Single parents are in the most housing stress<\/p>\n A higher proportion of Australians are reporting housing stress, but when you break it down into types of households, it reveals some are driving the increase more than others.<\/p>\n Housing stress has consistently been higher for single parents with kids, but has also surged for single older men and couples with kids in recent years.<\/p>\n Middle age is the roughest patch for relationships<\/p>\n As you age, the data shows that relationship quality increases, but not before it plummets in your 30s and 40s.<\/p>\n Women also consistently report a lower relationship quality than men across their lifetimes.<\/p>\n But it’s worth noting that even at the lowest dip for women, the average rating for relationship quality is about a four out of five.<\/p>\n If you need someone to talk to, call:Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 22 46 36Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890QLife<\/a> on 1800 184 527<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How stressed out are we about housing? Are we happy in our long-term relationships? 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