The Government’s admission in senate estimates that the JobMaker scheme will only create 45,000 of the 450,000 jobs announced in the budget will not surprise Australian workers.
The new scheme bears all the hallmarks of other youth jobs programs under this Government – prioritises short term, insecure work and fails to meet all benchmarks for job creation.
Like the PaTH program before it, the JobMaker scheme will not address the crisis of unemployment and insecure work which is creating a generation of Australian workers who are struggling to get a foothold in the workforce, and cannot find secure employment when they do.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President Michele O’Neil:
“Youth unemployment stands at 14.5 per cent, with huge numbers of young people reliant on JobKeeper for work.
“With the looming end of JobKeeper, and no commitment on JobSeeker, young people are being offered a program which incentivises the creation of short-term, insecure work.
“We need strong government investment to create secure, long-term employment for all workers, including young people.
“Getting people back to work in secure employment, putting money in their hands and giving them the confidence to spend is the only way to re-start the economy.
“The ACTU has a detailed national economic reconstruction plan which details just how effective government investment in services, tourism, early childhood education, manufacturing and construction could be in creating the jobs that Australians need.”
