Essential workers are being priced out of their own communities

Social Futures has come out in support of essential workers, who – according to a new report –  are being priced out of their own communities by soaring rents.

The report, commissioned by Everybody’s Home, shows that since March 2020, essential workers have lost on average six hours from their weekly income to rent increases. That’s 37 working days each year.

Social Futures program manager Lisa Hopwood has told Seven News that working people are increasingly approaching homeless services for support after failing to find an affordable rental.

The new Everybody’s Home report found:

• Nationally, the average essential worker is spending around two thirds of their income on housing, and;
• Our lowest paid workers would be left with as little as $20 a day after paying rent.

Essential workers aren’t the only ones experiencing significant housing stress. There are 640,000 families in need of social housing and 122,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night.

Social Futures supports the Everybody’s Home campaign to build more social housing.

To find out more about the Everybody’s Home campaign for social housing and the impact on the housing crisis on essential workers, click HERE.