Namrata Nandani, 30, of Blacktown / Pic: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph

The findings are likely to cause the federal government concern about overall sentiment in its traditional heartland, where several seats are now on a knife edge after the cliffhanger 2010 election.

The number of people in western Sydney who find it “very difficult” on current incomes doubled in the past year from 6 per cent to 12 per cent, the study of both workers and job hunters by research firm Acid Test for CareerOne found.

Those who find it merely “difficult” in western Sydney also jumped to 24 per cent.

And while more people are finding it tough in the city’s west, the numbers did not rise for the rest of the country.

But there were other warning signs nationally in the 1500-person study.

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The number of people “very concerned” about the state of the economy nearly doubled from 11 per cent in 2011 to 20 per cent in 2012, figures exactly mirrored in western Sydney.

The economic uncertainty appears to have been a key factor in a significant downturn in people “actively” looking for work nationally – from 37 per cent in 2011 to just 30 per cent this year.

This appears to have led to more people hanging on to their current jobs.

Former Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) CEO Jeremy Goff said the figures “would not be a surprise to anyone” living in western Sydney. “The two-speed economy is very real,” he said. “While there’s a boom in WA, western Sydney is facing contraction in many of the industries that sustained it for decades. Consumer and house prices are not coming down, but job opportunities and income are falling.”

He pointed to a University of Western Sydney study which predicted that “by 2030, western Sydney will have 200,000 fewer net new jobs than are required to sustain the population”.

Namrata Nandani – who works for a car distributor in Homebush – said she wants to move to another industry but sees job hunting as risky.

“Because of the economic climate, I’m scared to leave my current role,” she said.

“If I’d looked a year ago, it would have been much easier to go from one job to another without decreasing my pay.

“But now the income for roles similar to mine outside of where I currently work is $10,000 to $15,000 less than I’m currently earning.”

Ms Nandani, 30, decided to live with her parents to save money. “Renting somewhere decent near where I work costs a minimum $250 a week sharing accommodation.”