We shouldn’t give unemployed people more money. The answer is to get them into jobs. That’s the message politicians routinely trot out when it’s suggested we should give the unemployed a leg up. But there aren’t enough jobs and they know it.
Most economists believe a certain level of unemployment is necessary, partly because it helps control inflation. In other words, the unemployed need to take one for the team.
More Australians are taking one for the team, but the government denies them support in their hour of need.Credit: iStock
Shortly before she became Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock made a speech in which she explained that “if unemployment remains too low for too long” it becomes harder to manage inflation. To put it another way, the RBA aims to achieve a Goldilocks unemployment rate that’s not too high and not too low – it’s just right.
In this pursuit, the RBA is simply doing what governments ask of central banks the world over. But if unemployment is necessary for Australia’s economy, why does our government treat unemployed people so badly?
As I write this, I’ve been waiting 68 days for Centrelink to process my JobSeeker application. I’m flat broke and have relied on loans from family and friends to survive. It’s embarrassing, depressing and makes me angry given I’ve been a taxpayer for most of my life.
In the last six months of 2023 there were 22.4 million calls to Centrelink that went unanswered while around 1.1 million “customers” waited for their claims to be processed. Centrelink says it’s sorry for the delay and suggests raiding your superannuation if you’re in a jam. This messaging was obviously approved by someone who has never tried to get cash out of their super fund in a hurry.
Friends try to reassure me that I’ll be back-paid once my application is approved, but I can’t rely on this because my claim may be rejected.
Seventy-six thousand more Australians were unemployed this January compared to the same time last year. This follows redundancies at the likes of KPMG, Australia Post, Star Entertainment, Telstra, and the big banks. Job cuts have also bitten in the tech, mining, and retail sectors. Last week PwC made 329 staff redundant. We will see the wider impact of such cuts when the latest unemployment figures are released on Thursday.
I’m flat broke – Centrelink has kept me on hold for nearly 10 weeks
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20.03.2024
We shouldn’t give unemployed people more money. The answer is to get them into jobs. That’s the message politicians routinely trot out when it’s suggested we should give the unemployed a leg up. But there aren’t enough jobs and they know it.
Most economists believe a certain level of unemployment is necessary, partly because it helps control inflation. In other words, the unemployed need to take one for the team.
More Australians are taking one for the team, but the government denies them support in their hour of need.Credit: iStock
Shortly before she became Reserve........
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