Old and young hit hard as the number of long term unemployed Australians soars since global financial crisis by Ben Schneiders
27th February 2015
1. Introduction
This report analyses some of the issues raised in the article which was published by The Sydney Morning Herald on 27/02/2015. The issues discussed in this article revolve around the current state of affairs affecting Australia nationwide. According to this article, unemployment in Australia has risen dramatically since the financial crisis. It is claimed by the welfares that in the long term unemployed people will be affected mentally and physically. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) analysed that unemployment rate has increased more than 150 per cent since mid-2008 and
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The recent unemployment rate figures and chart below were extracted from ABS and trading economics for Australia.
APRIL KEY FIGURES Mar 2015 Apr 2015 Mar 15 to Apr 15 Apr 14 to Apr 15
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Trend Employed persons ('000) 11 705.9 11 725.0 19.1 1.6 % Unemployed persons ('000) 768.0 767.5 -0.6 5.7 % Unemployment rate (%) 6.2 6.1 0.0 pts 0.2 pts Participation rate (%) 64.8 64.8 0.0 pts 0.1 pts
Seasonally Adjusted Employed persons ('000) 11 727.5 11 724.6 -2.9 1.5 % Unemployed persons ('000) 762.5 769.5 7.0 7.4 % Unemployment rate (%) 6.1 6.2 0.1 pts 0.3 pts Participation rate (%) 64.8 64.8 -0.1 pts 0.1 pts
3.0 Costs associated with high unemployment rates
The costs to the economy and individuals are substantial. Being unemployed affects individuals and the economy in the long run. Unemployment has been significantly higher among the young people who have low level of education or living in low socioeconomic income areas. High unemployment rates affect government expenditure which would result in higher benefit payments and low tax
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Job Services Australia is a network of private and community recruitment agency who help in finding jobs for the unemployed. They are funded by the Australian government and offer personalised support for job seekers. Mr Nicholson stated in this article that “the employment placement system by Job Services Australia was not designed efficiently and was failing to meet its standards” which means the government should help lower unemployment levels by providing efficient job systems and improving the economy structure for the
Through economic growth the government aims to increased Australia’s standard of living and create the opportunity for increased investment in infrastructure and public services such as education and health. Through aiming to achieve external stability Australia aims to meet its long-term financial obligations to foreign countries so that future goals like higher growth and lower inflation are not hindered. Improving external stability is beneficial to the economy as it leads to reduce vulnerability to opposing developments in the global financial markets. The government objective of full employment involves the aim that the economy is at the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment. The economy benefits from achieving full employment and reducing unemployment as the economy’s capacity to produce is maximised, thus maximising Australia’s living standards. The government aims to create a fairer distribution of income and wealth. The government does not aim to remove all of the inequalities between individuals, as they recognise that free
Employment in Australia is on the rise with most people who are willing and able to work now having the opportunity to do so. Economists consider 5% unemployment which was the value in January recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Greater number of jobs created because of factors such as the mining boom and the recovery effect in Queensland because of the floods will further lower the unemployment rate. This will have the effect of consumers having more disposable income thus requiring an increase in long term interest rates.
“In early 2016, the ABS Labor force found that 258,000 youth aged 15-24 was unemployed” (ABS, 2016), accounting for over a third of total unemployment (721,400 people)” (ABS, 2016). There are several reasons youth unemployment exists in Australia, with the primary cause being low economic
The government should support the readiness of job as many industries were facing a lack of skilled labor. The Australian government after knowing the benefits of vocational education made reforms in the system (West and Murphy, 2010). The strategies to be made for 2018 were to improve the vocational training and produce skilled labor, provide assistance to industries facing skills shortage, provide support to indigenous people so that they acquire skills, provide assistance to increase Australian apprentice and providing training to the Australian indigenous people so that they get local jobs. The reforms in the vocational sector mainly focus on better quality and superior training to the people so that they cater to the needs of the employer. A greater transparency is also maintained (Biddle, 2011). The investment made in a vocational sector will help in developing skills. Action to 2013 suggests that through National Workforce Development Fund, workforce may be developed in areas that require current and future skills. Campaigning through “Health Heroes” will help to bring in more indigenous people in the labor force. The Land Corporation support would likely ensure employment in Ayer Rock Resort to increase by the end of 2018. Employment services should increase to increase more people into the workforce; a total of $227.9
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005) states Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience lower levels of employment, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait adults in 2002 being more than twice as likely to be unemployed, compared to mainstream Australian adults.
The trend in unemployment within the Australian economy has swayed significantly in the past 30 years. As of current, the national unemployment rate has been established at 5.8%, after an unexpected downturn from 6% in February of 2016 (“Australia Unemployment Rate | 1978-2016"). Over the past 30 years, the trend of national unemployment has been a downward drop, steadily moving from an approximate 8.2% in 1976 to
Due to the dynamic nature of the Australian labour market, we are able to respond to technological, economic, demographic and social changes that affect demand and supply of labour, at both a macroeconomic and microeconomic level. However the Australian labour market is not perfectly competitive as change in the demand and supply of labour through wage and employment levels in the many industries and occupations are not always responded perfectly. Thus, there are labour market institutions that intervene within the labour market to create changes and the two main institutions addressed in this report are the unions and the government.
Every one of the states additionally experienced huge falls in unemployment over the recent decades (Table 3). Actually, the states with the most elevated unemployment rates in 1991 by and large experienced bigger falls. At present, the rate of unemployment is genuinely uniform over the states, with the special cases of Western Australia, where it is beneath normal, and Tasmania, where it is above normal.
In the US, with a population of 320 million and a working wealth creating population of around 120 million, with 47 million on food stamps (an estimated increase of 27% since 2008), the unofficial estimated unemployment figure is 23 - 26%. The variation lies between including people as unemployed and ignoring those, ‘not in the labour force’, which is where the skewed figure of 4.7% comes from. Using the same semantics, Britain changed the term unemployed to job seekers in 1996, lowered unemployment at a stroke, yet left a nation of millions seeking work and by the same method, produced an amazingly near equal 4.9% of officially unemployed as America.
The number of unemployed people in Australia dropped to more than four-year low in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
Ageing people will receive superannuation and age pension after retirement, and the unemployed can apply for a small amount of allowance every two weeks. There are also many kinds of special benefits for the homeless and low income families. It seems that Australia’s welfare system is relative perfect and can ensure the fundamental living standard for everyone. However, a few social problems have emerged in the welfare society over the years.
Over the past 20 years, Australia labour market has faced many changes. Changes in the quality of labour supply and participation; labour utilisation; patterns of employment growth across states; the features of jobs; and earnings across states of Australia. (Wilkins & Wooden, 2014) Between the periods of 1993-2013, the labour market in Australia was in a period that can logically be thought off as one of strong labour market presentation. Workers, employment and earnings all went up over most of this period. During said period, measures of job insecurity and work intensity weakened and in some cases altered. (Wilkins & Wooden, 2014) When it came to labour demand, those who were educated and/or had a variety of skill were in demand. An article
The economy growth slowed to half a per cent and the unemployment rate has risen to around 5.75 per cent by November 2009, which remained this level to 2011.(RBA)
Unemployment is a major issue in current Australian economy. A study carried out by Saunders (2002) concluded that the higher the unemployment rate may skew the income distribution and result in increasing income inequality and poverty. It is bad for the economy and for society.
Unemployment of young people is a prominent issue in Australia for which young people have been rendered voiceless despite it significantly impacting their lives. Young people should have more systematic advocacy where individuals are able to contribute to structural changes in systems, thereby empowering them (Dalrymple 2005, p. 5). Unemployed young people can be defined as individuals aged between 15 and 24 who are without a job and actively seeking part time or full time work (Singell and Lillydahl 1989, p. 458). A central question on the nature of this issue is what factors increase unemployment of young people, and in what way these factors can be addressed. In this essay it is contended that increased family supports, educational involvement, skills matching demands of the labour market and job availability are the primary factors that can reduce unemployment of young people. Karl Marx’s conflict theory may be used to explain the significant inequalities between young people and adult employment rates. As the policies created by those in power are used to benefit themselves, resulting in young people being oppressed by adults. A stakeholder in a position to facilitate the implementation of a number of these changes is Michaelia Cash, the current Minister for Employment under the Liberal Government (Aph.gov.au, 2015).