Manufacturing and mining industries anticipate being affected by an economic slowdown.

Loan protection insurance provider ALI Group commissioned the survey of 1000 Australians to identify the main concerns people have around their mortgage and found job security caused sleepless nights for 36 per cent of all mortgage holders.

Single workers with kids were more worried than nuclear families, with 43 per cent concerned. For childless couples, the number dropped to 34 per cent and, single people with no kids were relatively untroubled, with just 14 per cent identifying employment stability as a worry.

Australia’s unemployment rate is currently at a steady 5.7 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But potential economic headwinds and lessons learned from the GFC have taught Australians not to be as comfortable as they have been in the past, according to ALI Group CEO Huy Truong.

Mortgage payments are on the minds of workers worried about job security.Source:Supplied

“These findings come as Australia experiences continued structural changes in the economy, including job losses in low tech manufacturing, automotive and mining industries,” Mr Truong said, claiming that almost 40 per cent of jobs will be threatened over the next decade by automation and computerisation.

“There are new jobs being created, particularly in growth industries like the personal services sector, but it takes time for people to find new employment,” he said.

The anxiety is understandable, with REIA’s 2016 Housing Affordability report showing that average Australians are spreading themselves thinly even in a low repayment rate environment, by spending 31.7 per cent of their weekly income on mortgage repayments. This places them under ‘mortgage stress’, using a traditional 30 per cent cut-off guideline.

“Given the ongoing industry shifts, I anticipate job changes and employment anxiety will continue to rise,” Mr Truong said.

The survey also found that half of respondents have feared being made redundant on at least one occasion, while 37 per cent believed it would take more than three months to find a new job at their current level of skill and seniority.

Manufacturing and mining industries anticipate being affected by an economic slowdown.Source:Supplied

The uncertainty sheds some light on Mortgage Choice’s recent study, which found 22 per cent of Australian borrowers are fixing their home loan at the current low rates. Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell expects more borrowers to fix as lenders continue to lift rates out of cycle with the RBA.

“We may see more borrowers choosing to fix their mortgage in a bid to avoid further rate hikes and (achieve) some certainty around their regular mortgage repayments.

Originally published as Mortgage holders stressed over jobs