Earn
Unemployment is not telling the entire story
An unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent for April wasn’t the wipe-out some economists predicted, but the number in itself is only telling part of the story.
Unemployment is not telling the entire story
An unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent for April wasn’t the wipe-out some economists predicted, but the number in itself is only telling part of the story.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) April unemployment figures show that unemployment rose by 104,500 to 823,000 – 6.2 per cent. That’s far below some predictions of a rise in unemployment to more than 8 per cent.
“The large drop in employment did not translate into a similar-sized rise in the number of unemployed people because around 489,800 people left the labour force,” said Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese pointed out that the number, while smaller than expected, has still left half a million Australians who have been negatively impacted due to the pandemic.
“That is a devastating figure,” Mr Albanese said. “They are all people with families, with a need to put food on the table for their family and their kids. They are people who are our friends, our relatives, our neighbours, people in our community.”
However, unemployment isn’t the full story. Around 2.7 million people (one in five employed in March) either left employment or had their hours reduced between March and April – a figure the ABS notes “was much greater than in previous years”.
“As a result, the number of underemployed people also rose sharply (up 603,300 to a total of 1.8 million people), and the underemployment rate rose to a record-high 13.7 per cent (up 4.9 percentage points),” the ABS said in a release.
Underutilisation – which combines the underemployment and unemployment rates – also rose to a record high of 19.9 per cent.
Government stimulus from JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments may also be dampening statistics on the “true” number of unemployed, with more than 6 million Australians now receiving the JobKeeper payment, according to the Treasurer.
“Many Australians out of work will still be counted as ‘employed’ because they will receive JobKeeper payments via their employers,” the Grattan Institute said in a report. “Others that would have lost their jobs will remain employed. And others will leave the labour force entirely and so won’t be counted among the unemployed either.
“Nonetheless, we expect the unemployment rate could rise to between 10 and 15 per cent.”
But Roy Morgan estimates that unemployment may already be as high as 15 per cent – well beyond the Treasury estimate of 10 per cent – and that a “V-shaped” recovery is unlikely.
“The changed economic and employment landscape will start to normalise. But with a much larger pool of unemployed and underutilised workers, there will be a far more competitive jobs market for employers to pick from,” Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said.
“There will be no ‘snapback’, which means all, or even most, newly unemployed Australians are back in their original jobs in the next few months.”
The government is now facing questions around how it will phase out the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments while many Australians are still struggling to get back on their feet – but Treasurer Frydenberg refused to budge on the matter of a permanent increase to the Newstart Allowance.
“We’ve been very clear that the measures we’ve announced are temporary – they’re targeted, they’re proportionate, and they use existing systems,” Treasurer Frydenberg told the National Press Club. “These were the principles we adopted.”
About the author
About the author
Salary
PM introduces pandemic leave disaster payment
Victorians who are forced to isolate for 14 days due to coronavirus will now have access to a Federal “pandemic leave disaster payment” if they have no sick leave available to them. ...Read more
Salary
Australian households comfortable about their finances
Government lifelines, including the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments, are having an impact, with more Australians feeling comfortable about their financial position, according to new research. ...Read more
Salary
‘Scarred for some time’: Young Aussies face grim job prospects, commission warns
Young Australians in their 20s and 30s will face years of struggling to find work in their desired fields, a new report has found. ...Read more
Salary
Financial uncertainty to linger for longer for young Aussies
Young Australians have disproportionately felt the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, with almost half of them identifying a financial hit since March 2020. ...Read more
Salary
Cash payments for COVID-19 test-takers
The Victorian government has indicated that it will provide workers who are required to isolate after taking a COVID-19 test with a $300 support payment so they don’t have to attend work sick. ...Read more
Salary
Poverty tipped to rise as JobSeeker ends
The number of Australians living in poverty is set to rise to nearly 4 million once the $550 JobSeeker allowance is returned to its pre-COVID level, new research finds. ...Read more
Salary
Unemployment spikes to 22-year high
Despite adding 210,800 new jobs, Australia’s unemployment rate has jumped to a 22-year high in June, national stats have revealed. ...Read more
Salary
War waged on wage theft
Queensland has vowed to stamp out wage theft in the state, which costs the state’s workers more than $1.2 billion in unpaid wages each year, and a further $1.1 billion in underpaid superannuation. ...Read more
Salary
PM introduces pandemic leave disaster payment
Victorians who are forced to isolate for 14 days due to coronavirus will now have access to a Federal “pandemic leave disaster payment” if they have no sick leave available to them. ...Read more
Salary
Australian households comfortable about their finances
Government lifelines, including the JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments, are having an impact, with more Australians feeling comfortable about their financial position, according to new research. ...Read more
Salary
‘Scarred for some time’: Young Aussies face grim job prospects, commission warns
Young Australians in their 20s and 30s will face years of struggling to find work in their desired fields, a new report has found. ...Read more
Salary
Financial uncertainty to linger for longer for young Aussies
Young Australians have disproportionately felt the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, with almost half of them identifying a financial hit since March 2020. ...Read more
Salary
Cash payments for COVID-19 test-takers
The Victorian government has indicated that it will provide workers who are required to isolate after taking a COVID-19 test with a $300 support payment so they don’t have to attend work sick. ...Read more
Salary
Poverty tipped to rise as JobSeeker ends
The number of Australians living in poverty is set to rise to nearly 4 million once the $550 JobSeeker allowance is returned to its pre-COVID level, new research finds. ...Read more
Salary
Unemployment spikes to 22-year high
Despite adding 210,800 new jobs, Australia’s unemployment rate has jumped to a 22-year high in June, national stats have revealed. ...Read more
Salary
War waged on wage theft
Queensland has vowed to stamp out wage theft in the state, which costs the state’s workers more than $1.2 billion in unpaid wages each year, and a further $1.1 billion in underpaid superannuation. ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.