New-found austerity is revealed in an HorizonPoll survey commissioned by the Sunday Star-Times.

The HorizonPoll, covering 2055 respondents between January 7 and 13, 2011, finds many are worrying over their personal finances and job prospects:

•41.5% say their household’s financial position is worse than a year ago

•30% expect their personal financial situation will worsen this year (28% improve, 39.4% stay the same)

•12% are extremely worried and another 34.6% worried by their personal and household financial situation, with only 13.4% not worried at all

•3.9% (about 64,000 adult New Zealanders) think they will lose their jobs this year

Kiwis say they tightened their belts and paid off debt last year, and say they expect to do this even more so this year.

The Sunday Star Times' full report on a nation locking its wallets is at http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4546089/Debt-surge-drives-NZers-urge-to-save

More results from the survey, including details on who are most worried, at at HorizonPoll's eb site: http://www.horizonpoll.co.nz/page/91/people-feel-worse-off-locking-wallets-in-2011

The survey is weighted by age, gender, ethnicity, personal income, region and part vote 2008 to provide a representative national population sample. The maximum margin of error at a 95% confidence level is ±2.2%.

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