<
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/07/there-are-26-jobseekers-for-every-entry-level-position-in-australia-report-finds>
"A lack of suitable jobs and a trend towards insecure work is locking hundreds
of thousands of people in poverty, according to a new report that finds there
are 26 jobseekers for every entry-level position in Australia.
Anglicare’s annual Jobs Snapshot found that of the 26 people out of work for
each entry-level position, 18 are technically “long-term” unemployed, meaning
they have been out of the workforce for more than 12 months.
By comparing data on the number of people with barriers to work with the number
of suitable job advertisements in the sample month of August, the report found
the odds heavily stacked against those who have not finished year 12, older
workers trying to stay in employment after losing their jobs, people with
disability or mothers short on skills after raising their children.
“Our snapshot shows that almost 560,000 Australians in this situation are
looking for work,” Anglicare’s executive director, Kasy Chambers, said. “They
are long-term unemployed, and they are being left behind each year.
“They need entry-level jobs to get their feet on the ladder, but there aren’t
enough to meet demand in any part of the country.
“For each entry-level role, 26 people are looking for work. People with
barriers to work barely stand a chance.”
Since June 2022, Australia’s unemployment rate has hovered between a low of
3.4% and 3.7%, with under-employment sitting around 6.4%, according to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
While unemployment has fallen, the number of Australians with barriers to work
has barely shifted in eight years, the report found. The number of people on
the jobseeker payment declined by 7.4% in the past year, from 875,490 to
811,020, but the proportion of recipients on income support for more than five
years increased from 9% in August 2013 to 24% in August this year.
The average duration of receiving jobseeker payments almost doubled within a
decade, from 99 weeks in August 2013 to 185 weeks in August 2023.
Australia already had the third-highest proportion of non-standard workers
among the advanced economies, the report said, with as many as 2.1 million
workers – or 20.4% of employees – not guaranteed a minimum number of hours each
week. About a third of all workers did not have access to paid sick leave."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
