Call me ‘Cassandra the Prophet of Doom’ but even before the Coronavirus hit, things were bleak for the unemployed, the under-employed and the long term unemployed. As a resume writer, I see their plight everyday. This edited story is by Matt Wade from the SMH (April 3, 2020).

Australia underinvests in employment services, a new report has found, as nearly half a million people had received unemployment payments for a year or more, when the coronavirus crisis hit.

Analysis by the Australian Council of Social Service and Jobs Australia, reveals “disturbing growth” in the share of job seekers who have been out of work for an extended period.

At the end of 2019 almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of the 757,000 people receiving unemployment payments had been doing so for more than a year. That compares with 49 per cent in 2009 and fewer than 40 per cent during the mid-1990s.

Now almost half (46 per cent) have received unemployment payments for over two years and one in five (20 per cent) for more than five years.

The new “Faces of unemployment” report highlights the risk of long-term unemployment for those who have lost jobs. It says Australia has been underinvesting in programs that help people find work and that onerous compliance rules for those receiving unemployment payments have been put ahead of practical help to secure employment.

Australia’s overall spending on programs to assist the unemployed as a share of GDP was less than half the OECD average in 2017.

Cassandra Goldie, the chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said even before the coronavirus crisis too many people were locked out of paid work and more “serious investments” in employment services are needed.

“We have a good idea from the evidence available of what works to get people unemployed long-term into jobs: paid work experience in a regular job rather than work for the dole; training in skills in demand from employers rather than standardised ‘work preparation’ courses, and one-on-one support both for those seeking employment and prospective employers,” she said.

Those who’ve lost their jobs because of the coronavirus shutdowns aren’t eligible for the new Centrelink benefits if they have a partner earning over $48,000 a year but the Social Services Minister says she’s working to change that.

The federal government spends $1.3 billion annually on its jobactive employment services program but the 42 organisations that administer it devote considerable resources to enforcing compliance. The report calls for the system to “make room” for more intensive assistance for job seekers.

The government has introduced a six-month “coronavirus supplement” that effectively doubles the rate of unemployment payments. But Dr Goldie says a permanent increase is needed.