However, these results are far from equivalent along demographic lines (as outlined in Chapter Three on the types of non-users). The major contributing factors for not having access to the Internet at home also vary widely depending on employment status.

Nearly unanimously, students cite cost as the main barrier to home Internet access (92 per cent) as do a plurality of those that could be described as more precariously employed (about one in two among seasonal, part-time and unemployed). Homemakers also name cost as a barrier to home Internet access (43 per cent).

All term/casual workers name lack of interest as the reason they do not have Internet access at home as do a majority of self-employed individuals and retirees. For both, the balance is more inclined to say that they are not interested in having Internet access from home.

Full-time employed who do not have home Internet access are split on all three main reasons. A plurality cite cost as the major barrier, with a further one in three who say that they have no interest. The balance, slightly less than one in four, says they do not need Internet access at home.

The results from the 2001 survey show very similar patterns emerging. Although the levels of access have increased, both overall (68 per cent) and from home (59 per cent), the rate at which they increased is very similar from one employment group to the next. Students and full-time workers are still among the most likely Internet users, with the lowest levels of access found among retirees and homemakers. The 2001 data on access from home reveal similar findings to 2000.

The sizeable (19-point) increase from 1999 to 2001 in the proportion of respondents who indicate they currently have Internet access from home has had a noticeable effect on the main reasons for no home access. That is, those who do not have home access are much less likely to cite cost as the main barrier in 2001 compared to 1999.

Although expressed at a different level, there is a similar pattern in the overall responses in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Cost is still the main barrier among respondents who are seasonal or students. The most striking difference is the reduction in the number of respondents who are unemployed who say cost is the main barrier. While still a plurality at 47 per cent in 2001, it is nowhere near the 72 per cent who indicated cost in the 1999 survey.