An empty Bourke Street is seen in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 17, 2021. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

By Alfred Bui

December 5, 2022

A new study has revealed how life was much harsher for Melbourne residents than in other parts of Australia, as the city was under the world’s longest lockdowns of 262 days.

According to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey released by the University of Melbourne, almost half of the Australian population (45 percent) said they were worse off because of COVID-19 in 2020.

Among the capital cities and regions, Melbourne had the highest percentage of people aged 15 and over reporting that their life was much worse during the pandemic at 33 percent.

In comparison, the figure was 25 percent for non-urban parts of the Australian state of Victoria and 16 percent for the whole country.

Factors Contributing to the Drop in Australians’ Quality of Life

The research showed that various factors, including worsened mental health, increased unemployment, changes in behaviour and education disruptions, contributed to the decline in people’s quality of life in the first year of the pandemic.

It also found that single parents and people with disabilities were the most vulnerable group during the health crisis.

 

Specifically, around 40 percent of single parents and single older people in Victoria said their life had changed for much worse compared to over 11 percent for the rest of Australia.

 

People walk across Flinders Street in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 20, 2021. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Regarding employment, the study said jobless people were more likely to report negative impacts than the employed, as the pandemic had caused many people to lose jobs.

This was especially the case in Victoria, which recorded the highest rate of job termination at 5.3 percent.

The percentage of unemployed people who said their life was much more difficult in the state was around 30 percent, compared to over 10 percent for the rest of Australia.

 

Decline in Mental Health During Pandemic

In addition, the study found there was a substantial drop in mental health in all age groups, especially among women, who were affected by factors such as working from home and the loss of social support and connections.

Lead researcher Roger Wilkins said the study indicated that the negative health impacts of COVID-19 spread beyond those who got sick and died.

“There’s certainly cause for some alarm,” he said in comments obtained by AAP.

“We’ve already been seeing a trend in mental health decline, particularly amongst young people and that really accelerated in 2020. That potentially has many terrible implications going forward for wellbeing and demands on the health system.”

Some noticeable changes in Australians’ spending habits in 2020 were also spotted, with spending on alcohol and tobacco jumping by 8 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively.

The pandemic also brought significant changes to education, with 47 percent of students aged 15 and above across Australia saying they had a worse learning experience during the health crisis.

Furthermore, almost one-third of Australian tertiary students experienced disruptions in their study programs, while the figure for Victorian students was around 49 percent.