House prices may be going up, but so are our wages - by more than a third over the past eleven years, according to the latest survey results released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS figures show that the average Australian household income rose ten per cent between 2003-04 and 2005-06, to be 34 per cent higher than in 1994-95.
It seems the adage of the rich getting richer is also true, with the results showing that the real income of high income people rose by 36 per cent over the eleven years to 2005-06. This compares to a rise of 31 per cent for low income earners and 32 per cent for middle income earners.
It was found that middle income households contained fewer employed people than high income households (1.5 compared to 1.9). Low income households had an average of 0.6 employed people.
At the national level, mean incomes in the capital cities of Australia were 16 per cent above those outside capital cities.
There were also considerable differences in the average levels of income between the states and territories. Average incomes in the Australian Capital Territory were well above the national average, while incomes in Tasmania and South Australia were at least 6 per cent below the national average.
The wealthiest 20 per cent of households in 2005-06 accounted for 61 per cent of total household net worth, with average net worth of $1.7 million per household.
In comparison, the poorest 20 per cent of households accounted for 1 per cent of total household net worth and had an average net worth of $27,000 per household.
