In their hearts many Australians know there is a looming employment problem in Australia. It is now almost laughable that the government puts out unemployment statistics that tell the masses that the unemployment rate is falling.
If you look behind the magic number, the fall in the unemployment rate is driven by the drop in participation rate. People have given up looking for work. Creating the illusion that part time work equates to full time work is just that, an illusion, disguising an underlying rising underemployment problem.
“Australia has a hidden unemployment group of 8{01332a80e2e652688e18927fa9a6162580960d47bc08263a3993439d666dcd52}, combine this with unemployment you have 1 in 8 people who do not have enough work”.
Professor John Buchannan
You only have to be employed one hour a week to be considered employed.
It’s time to confront the problem directly with the relevant data. No problem can be addressed if the problem is not acknowledged. Sugar coating numbers no longer prevents the masses from worrying.
Never before in my working or personal life have I seen such worry, expressed by so many people about their future employment, if not for themselves but for their children and grandchildren.
Constant worry is enveloping many employees as the reality is dawning. Wages are stagnating, redundancies abound, full time work diminishes as cost controls become the holy grail.
There is a disconnect in many people’s mind, the government is telling them one thing and their reality is another. This is why I believe people are talking about their employment concerns in whispers. I think of it as shadow talk. They don’t want to be seen as the only vulnerable ones in the eyes of other’s.
Keeping up appearances, keeping their head down, doing more than expected and managing the mounting stress is an everyday reality for many.
I was busily working on this article on my weekly two-hour commute home on the train and I glanced up at a fellow traveller. I said he looked tired and he said in quiet tones (shadow talk) he did a thirteen-hour day five days a week. I enquired further and he said in even softer towns you just have to do what it takes to get work. I asked him what did he do and he said “I survive” smiled at me warmly and left the train to drive another half an hour home.
The future of Australia’s job market, is looking a little like Marilyn Monroe’s hourglass figure – lots of jobs at the top and at the bottom, with slim pickings in between.
Federal Employment department
Yes, there are some who are not in this position, who appear not to be worried as life is sweet, gorged by the luxuries of life. There are others who play Pollyanna and say everything is fine and others who say what crap until it affects them.
A very dear friend, had been made redundant when a new GM came in with a new broom. This was the first time he had been made redundant and he was a highly skilled professional. He had been pleased to get a generous redundancy believed it would be easy to get another job. Almost six months later, his view had changed. He could not believe the world he had entered into. His experience seemed irrelevant as people did not respond to calls or emails. Rejection or no response was an everyday occurrence and he was only 42. He was prepared to work interstate, drop salary and do what it took. He said “unless you have been here Jenny you would never understand”; but I did know I had been there too.
There is no one answer or easy answer to this mounting problem, however ignoring it isn’t an option. Governments, businesses and our education systems have to work together to come up with integrated policies that ensure the financial stability of their citizens, their employees and their families. If for no other reason than self-interest.
While there are many more potential jobs in IT than science, a third of recent IT graduates cannot find full-time work.
Grattan Institute 2016
Outsourcing of jobs to the lowest bidder. Over 80,000 jobs have been offshored by 2014
They can’t work in isolation they have to work together. The first step is to acknowledge the problem. The second step is to create useful information from the employment data. The third may be to bring a diverse group of people together to discuss future alternatives and recommend integrated policies. Those people need to include the everyday citizens, and thought leaders in business, academia and politics.
Combine this approach with high profile public debate on Sky news, ABC, Q&A, social media and any other relevant forums and momentum could generate positive outcomes.
The future of Australians financial stability is bringing the issue out of the shadows now. If ignored or sugar coated with irrelevant data, it will be left to fester and gain momentum in the shadows building the monsters of the future. However, we must also understand that if those shadows are acknowledged and flooded with light, monsters have nowhere to hide.