WYNDHAM residents are working longer hours but earning less money than they were four years ago, new figures reveal.
Census data released last week shows almost half of Wyndham’s full-time workers are putting in more than 40 hours a week at work, up from about 25 per cent in 2006.
The statistics also showed the municipality’s average weekly income for a single person was $635 in August 2011, up from $516 in 2006.
The average weekly household income was $1147 last year, down from $1556 in 2006.
The census also revealed an increase in unemployment, with the number of residents without jobs rising from 5.4 per cent four years ago to 6.3 per cent. The state jobless rate was 5.4 per cent.
Job agencies blamed the increase on Wyndham’s reliance on manufacturing and retail. WISE Employment’s Richard Verhagen said inadequate public transport also contributed to the high unemployment rate, with job seekers struggling to get to interviews and jobs outside of the municipality.
According to the census, 72 per cent of Wyndham residents travel to work by car, with only 5.3 per cent taking the train.
Werribee’s Anna Dooland said that although she lived close to a train station and wanted to look after the environment by taking public transport, she found the service too unreliable.
In the past three weeks, Ms Dooland caught four trains from the city to Werribee and all were replaced by buses.
She said what was usually a 42-minute train trip turned into one hour and 35 minutes on a bus.
