2017-10-19
Anglicare’s Jobs Availability Snapshot 2017 released today reveals that despite a strong growth period in full-time employment, vulnerable job seekers and people with low qualifications are still facing significant barriers to employment.
The reports key findings were:
- There are not enough entry-level positions for the people who need them.
- People with significant barriers to work are not benefiting from the recent boom in full-time employment.
- The growing casualisation of the workforce works against the ability of people with barriers to work to gain suitable and secure work.
- The market cannot be relied upon to fix these problems without intervention.
“We have up to five people competing for every one entry level job across Australia, and the situation is worse in WA, SA and Tasmania, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“For far too long the government has been vilifying people accessing the social safety net as dole bludgers, too lazy to get a job.
“The government says it either wants young people to be working or studying, yet they won’t provide the proper supports for people to do so. It is difficult to find work when you are struggling below the poverty line on an abysmally low rate of Newstart rate and they certainly can’t find work if it simply doesn’t exist.
“Part of helping people into employment has to be helping to overcome barriers to employment including poverty by raising the Newstart and Youth Allowance rates.
“We cannot just abandon people to poverty and then expect them to find work.
“The Government would rather vilify people accessing income support and undermine our social safety net than address these systemic issue."
Media Release Family, Ageing, Community and Disability Services