Introduction
This publication presents results from the first Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, conducted throughout Australia between the 31st of March and the 6th of April 2020.
It is the first survey in a new series, designed to provide a quick snapshot about how people in Australian households are faring in response to the changing social and economic environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey collected data about changes to job situation and hours worked, personal hygiene, health precautions taken, changes to travel plans, and intentions regarding flu vaccination. This information is critical to informing the government response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia.
More Household Impacts of COVID-19 Surveys focusing on the real-time impacts of COVID-19 on Australian households are in development, which will include both new topics and repeat topics from previous iterations to measure changes over time. Participants who took part in the first Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey will be asked to respond to the upcoming surveys to create a panel dataset.
This release forms part of a suite of additional products that the ABS is producing to measure the impacts of COVID-19 on the Australian economy and society.
For more information refer to https://www.abs.gov.au/covid19.
Sample/panel design and estimation
The panel for the survey comprised 1,180 private dwellings which were sourced from a sample of approximately 3,000 households who had completed an on-line or telephone interview in late February/early March, collecting information about basic demographic characteristics of people living in the household. Primarily, the person selected for the survey was the person who completed the household form and agreed to participate.
Of the 1,180 starting panel, there were 22 dwellings identified as sample loss, leaving 1,158 dwellings. Of these, 1,059 adequately completed the questionnaire, achieving an overall panel response rate of 91.5%.
Participation in the survey was voluntary and respondents had the option of opting out at any point.
Although the panel selection methodology was not strictly a random sample, the coverage of selections included all Australian geographies (excluding very remote locations) to ensure national estimates could be produced.
Furthermore, this panel data was weight adjusted using the ABS Estimated Residential Population as at the end of March 2020. Benchmarks comprised Age, Sex, and Geographic variables. In addition, adjustments were made based on number of persons living in household and education level of the selected person.
Data collection
Telephone interviews were conducted with one randomly selected person aged 18 years and over who was a usual resident of the selected household.
Information was collected by specially trained ABS interviewers using a Computer Assisted Interview (CAI) instrument, whereby answers were recorded on a computer device.
The topics covered in the first Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey include:
- Household characteristics
- Demographics
- Education
- Job situation
- Health precautions
- Flu vaccination
For a full list of data items collected, refer to the Data Item List available for download from the Data downloads section.
The survey collected information on the current (first week of April) job situation of all respondents; the previous job situation of respondents whose job situation had changed in the four weeks prior; and changes in the amount of hours worked in the last week for respondents currently with a job.
The survey was designed to provide a snapshot of the changes being experienced by Australians due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were asked simple questions about changes to their job situation, rather than the full suite of employment-related questions included in the ABS' Labour Force Survey (see Questionnaires Used in the Labour Force Survey, cat. no. 6232.0). The results of this survey are, therefore, not directly comparable to Australia’s official labour force measures.
For more information about measuring the labour market impacts of COVID-19 please see the educational piece Measuring the Labour Market impacts of COVID-19.
Relative standard error
In this publication, the standard error of the estimate is expressed as a percentage of the estimate, known as the relative standard error (RSE), which is a useful measure as it indicates the size of the error relative to the estimate.
Only data with an RSE of less than 25% are considered sufficiently reliable for most analytical purposes. However, estimates with an RSE over 25% are also published. Estimates with an RSE in the range 25% to 50% are less reliable and should be used with caution, while estimates with an RSE greater than 50% are considered too unreliable for general use.
Confidentiality
The Census and Statistics Act 1905 provides the authority for the ABS to collect statistical information, and requires that statistical output shall not be published or disseminated in a manner that is likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation. This requirement means that the ABS must take care and make assurances that any statistical information about individual respondents cannot be derived from published data.
Related publications
Measuring the Labour Market impacts of COVID-19 – Released 15 April 2020
5676.0.55.003 - Business Indicators, Business Impacts of COVID-19, March 2020 - Released 26 March 2020
6291.0.55.001 - Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery, Feb 2020 - Released 26 March 2020
8501.0.55.008 - Retail Trade, Australia, Preliminary, February 2020 - Released 18 March 2020
Jobs in Australia- Interactive maps of employment impacts of COVID-19 - Released 18 March 2020
3401.0 - Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, January 2020 – Released 16 March 2020
6232.0 - Questionnaires Used in the Labour Force Survey, July 2014
Acknowledgments
The ABS would like to thank all participants for their involvement in the survey. The information collected is critical to informing the government response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia
ABS surveys draw extensively on information provided by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated and without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.
Privacy
The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to the ABS.