A new scientific study has revealed that there are just six types of social classes Australians fall under.
The article, published in the Australian Journal of Political Science by Jill Sheppard and Nicholas Biddle, showed 76 per cent of the population where between the two extremes, according to News.com.au.
The study used data from a July 2015 survey of Australian citizens, which then identified six classes based on cultural, social and economic factors.
A new scientific study has revealed that there are just six types of social classes Australians fall under – including the precariat, ageing workers, new workers, mobile middle, emerging affluent and established affluent (stock photo)
According to the study these classes include the precariat, ageing workers, new workers, mobile middle, emerging affluent and established affluent.
The first of the classes was the precariat, which accounted for 15 per cent of the population and was characterised by ‘high numbers of retired pensioners’.
Over 36 per cent of this class were pensioners, with students and labourers also commonly in this class, according to News Limited.
‘Members of the precariat have the lowest mean household income (and) the lowest educational attainment,’ the report said.
The ageing workers, who made up 14 per cent, also included a large number of pensioners and had the ‘highest mean age’.
In contrast, the new worker class was characterised by ‘its low rate of unemployment,’ with 64 per cent stating they were middle class and 31 per cent considering themselves working class.
The mobile middle class were more likely be unemployed, but had also reached the stage where they could be self-funded retirees (stock photo)
The mobile or established middle were one of the biggest groups, accounting for 24 per cent of the population.
Members of this class were said to more likely be unemployed, but had also reached the stage where they could be self-funded retirees.
The youngest category was the emerging affluent class, comprising the highest rates for full-time and part-time workers.
While the final category – the established affluent – was the most advantaged and smallest with just 11 per cent of the population in it.
The study also showed that Australians were ‘acutely aware of their class identity’ but that it was possible to change this over time.
‘We are not readily marked as ‘elite’ or ‘working class’, so we can more easily slip between them,’ Dr Sheppard said.
Students were likely to be part of the precariat group which was also characterised by ‘high numbers of retired pensioners’ (stock photo)