Melbourne's wealthiest areas also put in longest work hours: census

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that the wealthiest areas in Melbourne spend the longest work hours. Workers clustered around the CBD recorded the highest rates of full-time and overtime work.

Based on statistics obtained for The Sunday Age, more than one in five workers from council areas of Port Phillip, Yarra, Stonnington and Bayside put in up to 49 hours per week. That is equivalent to at least nine hours of overtime work per week.

The majority or nearly 55 percent of wage earners from Port Phillip work 40 hours or more. This is comparable to 34 percent living in Greater Dandenong who works the same amount of hours.

In St Kilda, 54 percent of workers spend over 40 hours per week; the share was 51 percent in Toorak. Fifty-six percent of workers living in Prahran clocked in 40 hours per week or more. In Southbank, the share was at 53 percent.

Based on the 2016 census figures, the number of hours Australians work influences their income as well as the homes they live in. It also impacts workers’ family units, educational background and the industries where they belong.

Australian employment patterns

Australia Institute’s Tom Swann and Jim Stanford said there is increasing proof of a sharp polarisation in Australian employment patterns. They came up with the 2016 Excessive Hours and Unpaid Overtime report which shows an increasing gap "between those with full-time, relatively secure jobs, and a growing portion working part-time, casual, temporary or insecure positions.”

Stanford noted that the last five years of Australia Institute survey data indicated a growing gap between the number of workers who want more work and the number who want less. He said the average unpaid overtime is worth over $10,000 per year for full-time workers. Meanwhile, lost income from unpaid overtime exceeds $7500 per year for part-time workers.

Demographer Glenn Capuano said the main thing is jobs. He added that society has to encourage more jobs to be spread through suburban and regional centres. "The government can talk about relocating public jobs, but if you can get those high-value private career centres then you change the equation,” he said, according to Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia’s economy

The International Monetary Fund stated that Australia’s economy is under-performing compared to its developed markets peers. In its World Economic Outlook report for October 2017, the IMF looked at how the world’s biggest economies are performing and figures show Australia’s economy is the worst performer among developed markets.