Fewer Australians feeling depressed by the crisis

Australians are feeling slightly less depressed and financially stressed than during the severe COVID-19 shutdown a month ago, the latest Melbourne Institute survey shows.

The survey of more than 1200 people over the age of 18 also showed that fewer Australians were thinking the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity would last 12 months or more.

Since the announcement of a significant easing in COVID-19 restrictions on May 8, the proportion of Australians expecting the effect of the pandemic on economic activity to last for more than 12 months has fallen from 57 per cent to 50 per cent.

Melbourne Institute’s Professor Guay Lim said that while financial stress was also lower than during the worst period of shutdown, it had recently started to rise again.

‘‘Despite government economic policies to support jobs, current weak economic conditions appear to be impacting negatively on finances,’’ Professor Lim said.

‘‘The proportion of people reporting being financially stressed has risen, in three weeks, from 21 per cent to 24 per cent to 28 per cent.

‘‘Across industries, around 40 per cent of people working in the accommodation, food and recreational services and retail trade sectors have expressed concerns about paying for essential items, possibly reflecting the high number of job losses in those industries.’’

Job ads encouraging

But those people in the hospitality sector may have some good news – data from job advertising agency SEEK shows job ads in the hospitality and tourism sector are up 185 per cent on their April average and are one of the biggest contributors to a bounce in overall job ads.

In the fortnight ending May 24, there has been a 39.7 per cent increase in job advertising compared with the average for April.

‘‘Although it was another week of positive trends, it is still important to remember that we still have a long way to go before we return to pre-COVID levels,’’ SEEK managing director Kendra Banks said.

‘‘As social restrictions continue to ease, we expect to see more opportunities open up for jobseekers as businesses and hirers look to get their operations back up and running.’’

This positive job outlook may also be contributing to a bounce in the way people are feeling. The Melbourne Institute’s ‘‘Taking the Pulse of the Nation’’ survey showed mental health had improved slightly.

The proportion of Australians experiencing mental distress most or all of the time has been about 15 per cent for the past three weeks in May, down from 20 per cent in April.

ANZ’s alternative data, looking at the reopening of the economy, shows people are starting to feel better about their situation and are looking for domestic holidays and restaurant bookings.

‘‘The internet searching behaviour of Australians suggests to us that the fear of and interest in COVID-19 has subsided considerably,’’ ANZ’s Hayden Dimes said. ‘‘With regional travel in most states either allowed or soon to be allowed, people are thinking about travelling. Searching for ‘Melbourne hotels’ and ‘Sydney hotels’ lifted quickly in recent weeks.’’

Using booking website OpenTable, ANZ noted that restaurant bookings were now down only 90 per cent year on year compared with 100 per cent through the shutdown in April.

People are also moving around more – even in Victoria, where restrictions are the tightest, there has been a rise in Melbourne CBD foot traffic.