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<p class="greenHeader">Australian cities growing costlier- Mercer worldwide cost of living survey 2007</p><p><em>Provided by Mercer<br />19/6/07</em></p><table width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr valign=top><td width="100%"><p><p>Australian cities have moved up in the rankings of the world�s most expensive cities, in contrast to last year�s improvement in global competitiveness for employers sending expatriates overseas. </p><p>This is with the exception of Sydney, which remains Australia�s most expensive city, despite dropping down two places in the latest Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.</p><ul><li>Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide have all moved up the worldwide cost of living rankings�</li><li>Sydney dropped down the list but remains Australia�s most expensive city, ranking in 21st position globally</li><li>Moscow remains the world�s most expensive city for expatriates; Asuncion in Paraguay is the cheapest</li><li>Globally, European cities dominate the top of the list� </li></ul><p>While Sydney remains ahead of other Australian cities in cost of living, it moved down from 19th place to 21st place this year with a score of 94.9 (New York used as the base city scoring 100 points).</p><p>In contrast, Melbourne has moved up 14 places from last year, occupying 60th position with an index score of 82.5, while Perth moved up nine places to 84th position, scoring 77.8. Brisbane came in close behind at 86th position, moving up 13 places since last year�s survey (score 76.9), and Adelaide is in 96th place (score 74.7), remaining the least costly mainland state capital despite a 12 place jump. </p><p>Rob Knox, Principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting said while the findings are not entirely surprising, the sustained appreciation of the Australian dollar in recent months has certainly had an impact on cost of living from an international perspective. </p><p>�The resource rich states of Western Australia and Queensland, in particular, have experienced increased demand for goods and services through the influx of both people and capital contributing to upward pressure on costs in Brisbane and Perth. Other factors likely to be driving demand and increasing costs pressures include a positive employment outlook and healthy economy. </p><p>�But it�s important to keep this in perspective. Australian cities remain internationally very competitive from a cost point of view, coupled with favourable quality of living metrics, ensuring Australia will continue to be well placed to attract investment from overseas,� he said.</p><p>Expatriates in Australia continue to face higher living costs than their counterparts in New Zealand. Wellington is the least costly city in this region in 111th place with a score of 71.8.� Auckland climbs one place to rank 99th (score 73.9).</p><p>Globally, Moscow is the world�s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year. London is in second position, climbing three places since last year.� Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth.� Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running. </p><p>Moscow scores 134.4 and is over two-and-a-half times costlier than Asuncion, which has an index of 50.� Even so, the gap between the world�s most and least expensive cities appears to be narrowing.���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� </p><p>Mercer�s survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.� It is the world�s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.</p><p>�There have been some significant changes in the rankings since last year.� These are primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations - in particular, the weakening of the US Dollar and strengthening of the Euro,� said Rebecca Powers, a principal and senior consultant at Mercer.� </p><p>She added: �As companies continue to send employees on expatriate assignments, they must closely monitor changes in cost of living to ensure their expatriate compensation packages are fair and competitive.�</p><p><font color="#339900" size="2"><strong>More information</strong></font></p><p>Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed.� For further information or to purchase copies of the city reports, visit <a class="inlineLink" href="http://www.mercerhr.com/costofliving" target="_blank">www.mercerHR.com/costofliving</a>.�� <br /></p><p><p class="greenHeader">Related links</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%"><tr>
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