The chasm between rich and poor is widening as people are now working two or three jobs to pay mortgages, rent and put food on the table as inflation grows.

Over the past year, according to media reports, the number of people holding down more than one job, has climbed by 30,000 to a record 974,000.

Many Kiama people are asset-rich but cash poor as the belts are being pulled in a notch.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows households are slashing expenditure, often on necessities, to deal with the cost pressures.

Michael Douglas, a member of the St Vincent de Paul Conference in Kiama, said he is seeing people with rental arrears, an inability to purchase food, medical needs or prescription medication.

“We also have people fleeing domestic violence, who are homeless and have no income. Some of the families we assist have lived in Kiama for a number of years but are finding it difficult to make ends meet. It is no better in Gerringong and Jamberoo,” Mr Douglas said.

“The number of clients we see now compared to last year has more than doubled. We have had more than 180 client interactions already this year and our resources have been really stretched as we depend entirely upon donations of money and food. Kiama is becoming more and more unaffordable through high rents and the increasing cost of food and fuel in particular.”

NSW households have cut their spending on discretionary goods and services by 3 per cent. In the last year to June, the most significant price rises were dairy (+15%), housing (+7.4%), bread and cereals (+10%) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (+7.0%).

Thousands of people across Australia are calling financial counsellors - many for the first time - with National Debt Helpline calls up by more than 40 per cent since the Reserve Bank started lifting official interest rates in May 2022.

Online chats, favoured by younger people, have hit record levels, climbing 40 per cent in the past year.

Middle class just hanging in there as inflation and interest rates bite. Credit Michael Osbone

Financial market analysts said there’s a one-in-three chance the Reserve Bank will use its August meeting to lift the official cash rate to a 13-year high of 4.6 per cent.

As repayments have climbed, rents have risen by about 15 per cent nationally over the past two years.

Currently, there are only five rental properties in Kiama under $700 per week.

Consumer sentiment June 2024. Credit Reserve Bank of Australia

Tania Clarke from the Consumer Action Law Centre said housing costs were the single largest issue.

“A couple of years ago, the people we were hearing from had something go wrong, like they’d lost their job and there had been a death or something like that,” she said.

“We’re now seeing low and middle-income people, they’ve reached the end of the road and they need help.”

Courtney Moore, from Lifeline South Coast said the centre was seeing more clients in financial stress and this was reflected in the rising number of calls.

“Financial stress can contribute to poor mental health and exacerbate existing mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance misuse,” Courtney Moore said.

“While there are some groups more vulnerable to financial stress, it can affect anyone at any time. For example, people on higher incomes can feel distressed due to having larger financial commitments or at the prospect of losing some of the things they used to have access to and enjoy.”

Man pondering whether 40 years of neoliberalism was a good idea. Credit Andrea Piacquadio

Apart from housing costs, callers to the Debt Helpline report a growing number of problems paying council rates, utility bills and credit card or ‘buy now, pay later’ debts.

While the $300 energy relief payment, reduced medicine prices and paid parental leave will help, using interest rate hikes to try beat inflation hasn’t worked.

While the overall GDP managed a meagre 0.1% increase in March, a deeper concern lies with the ongoing per capita recession – a measure that shows each person’s share of economic output.

Where GDP measures the total market value of all goods and services produced in a country, GDP per capita divides the GDP figure by the country’s population.

GDP per capita fell for the fifth consecutive quarter, falling 0.4% in March and 1.3% through the year. The slice of the pie for the average person has been declining for 15 months.