FACTBase Bulletin 16 - Is Perth Becoming More Unequal: Updated

This paper builds on a Bulletin released earlier in 2010 (Bulletin 5) that examined the issues of income inequality across Australia's major cities, and within the Perth metropolitan area.

Key Findings

• Research shows that between 2000 and 2007 spatial inequality increased steadily in Perth as a result of the resources boom.
• While inequality increased through much of the resources boom, 2008 saw a major turning point with inequality decreasing sharply.
• While there are several reasons for this decrease in inequality, a large part can be attributed to the slowing of investment and other earnings amongst high income earners as a result pf the global financial downturn.
• While there is disparity between suburbs, Perth remains a more egalitarian city than Melbourne or Sydney, at least in terms of the geographical spread of income – this is in part due to a relative improvement in the performance of the poorest suburbs.