COVID-19 Financial Impact Index

By Alan Greenfield
Principal
11 November 2020


By Alan Greenfield - Principal
11 November 2020

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By Alan Greenfield
11 November 2020

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The Taylor Fry COVID-19 Financial Impact Index provides a weekly snapshot of the financial impact of COVID-19 on the Australian population, relative to pre-pandemic levels.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented economic and financial uncertainty. Many Australians are experiencing unemployment or underemployment, and business activity is likely to continue to be subdued for the foreseeable future due to the staggered removal of restrictions, and altered consumption patterns, both locally and globally.

We have built our COVID-19 Financial Impact Index to provide decision makers with a granular snapshot of the financial impacts of the pandemic on Australians. Our index does this by providing an estimate of financial impact – a substantial reduction in income relative to an individual’s baseline expenses – by considering:

  • Income – Whether an individual has lost significant income as a result of unemployment or underemployment, and to what extent government programs such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker cover pre-pandemic income.
  • Expenditure – Whether current income is likely to cover non-discretionary expenses based on pre-pandemic income and life stage.

Taylor Fry Principal Alan Greenfield says, “On our interactive map you can explore by postcode the financial impact of the pandemic over time. Postcodes experiencing the highest financial impact are coloured red, and those experiencing the least impact are coloured green.”

“There is real value in understanding how COVID-19 has affected individuals and parts of the country so differently. Organisations are dealing with an unprecedented scenario and can use the index to get an idea of how they need to tailor their activities, be it marketing, financial relief, or customer experience. We can also combine the index with an organisation’s customer or client data to drill down further into the impacts of COVID-19 on individual’s financial situation.”

Please email fii@taylorfry.com.au if you want to understand the financial impact of the pandemic on your organisation.

How do I use the map?

There’s a slide bar located at the bottom left of the window. You can either:

  • Press the play button to view a week-by-week time lapse of the financial impact of the pandemic to date
  • Manually drag the circle to view the financial impact of the pandemic in a particular week

You can also hover over a postcode to see how it has been financially impacted by the pandemic. If you click on a postcode, the charts to the right of the map will then update with the employment and income characteristics of the selected postcode, relative to those of their state or territory.

View our index below. Last updated 29 January 2021 (using employment data updated 19 December 2020).

What does the map show?

The heat map illustrates the financial impact of COVID-19 on each postcode in Australia. For each week, every suburb has been given an impact rating of low, medium, high and extreme.

A low rating means:

  • The population of the suburb works in essential industries with low rates of unemployment or underemployment, and/or
  • It has a relatively high proportion of population already unemployed or retired pre-COVID, and/or
  • The population consists of primarily low-income and/or high-income earners. A higher proportion of lost wages are replaced by JobKeeper/JobSeeker for low income earners, while high-income earners will generally have substantial savings for a rainy day

A medium rating means:

  • There is a medium probability of unemployment or underemployment in the postcode, based on the industries of employment of its residents, and/or
  • JobSeeker/JobKeeper payments are likely to cover a significant portion of its residents’ lost income, and/or
  • The residents of the postcode have low existing non-discretionary expenditure, relative to their income, and/or
  • The postcode has a moderate level of high-income earners who are likely to have substantial savings for a rainy day

A high rating means:

  • There is a high probability the residents of the postcode have experienced significant income loss, based on the industries of employment and pre-COVID income levels, and/or
  • The postcode’s residents have some savings buffer to cover immediate expenses, and/or
  • The postcode’s residents have a medium level of non-discretionary expenditure, relative to their income.

An extreme rating means:

  • The residents of the postcode are most exposed to industries that have experienced the greatest levels of job/wage loss, and/or
  • There is a high probability of significant income loss, with individuals in the postcode earning a moderate income that is mostly not compensated by JobKeeper, and/or
  • The postcode’s residents have a low probability of having substantial savings/rainy day funds, and/or
  • The postcode’s residents have high non-discretionary expenditure relative to income

What does the ‘Postcode characteristics pre-COVID-2019’ show me?

Industry of employment, compared to the state average

For the selected postcode,

  • This chart displays the 10 industries of employment that vary the most from the state/territory average distribution of industry of employment.
  • A positive number means this postcode has a greater proportion of people employed in that industry, compared to the rest of the state. For example, if the postcode has 10% of people employed in “Legal/Accounting” and the state average is 5%, the number shown will be +5%
  • A negative number means this postcode has a smaller proportion of people employed in that industry, compared to the rest of the state.
  • Data for this chart is taken from the 2016 census.
Income distribution, compared to the state average

For the selected postcode,

  • This chart displays how income is distributed compared to the state average.
  • A positive number means this postcode has more people in a particular income bracket compared to the rest of the state/territory.
  • A negative number means this postcode has fewer people in a particular income bracket compared to the rest of the state/territory.
  • Data for this chart is taken from the 2016 census.

Disclaimer

This page and its contents herein, including all data, mapping and analysis (“Page”), copyright 2020 Taylor Fry, all rights reserved, is provided solely for information purposes. You should not rely on this page for financial advice. Use of the Page by commercial parties and/or in commerce is strictly prohibited. Redistribution of the Page is strictly prohibited. When linking to the page, attribute the Page as Taylor Fry’s COVID-19 Financial Impact Index. The Page relies upon publicly available data from multiple sources that do not always agree. Taylor Fry hereby disclaims any and all representations and warranties with respect to the Page, including accuracy, fitness for use, reliability, completeness, and non-infringement of third party rights. Any use of Taylor Fry’s names, logos, trademarks, and/or trade dress in a factually inaccurate manner or for marketing, promotional or commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. These terms and conditions are subject to change. Your use of the Page constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions and any future modifications thereof.


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