Low-skilled jobs void
LOW-SKILLED Tasmanian jobseekers are fighting it out with more applicants than anywhere in the country.
A report released today has found there are 12 Tasmanians competing for every lowskilled, entry-level position advertised.
The Anglicare Australia Jobs Availability Snapshot 2018 found Tasmania had the worst ratio of aspirants per unskilled job available, followed by South Australia with eight people per position and Western Australia with six.
Across Australia the average was 4.26 applicants per position. There was no state or territory where there were enough low-skilled jobs for the number of people who wanted one.
Those jobs include cleaners, labourers, clerical and office support, farm, forestry and garden workers and salespeople.
Executive director of Anglicare Australia Kasy Chambers said low-skilled jobs were slowly disappearing.
She said across the country the number of low-skilled jobs advertised had halved since 2006 and applicants were being forced to compete with more highly skilled candidates.
“The job market isn’t for everyone, it’s failing those who need the most help to find work, those without qualifications or experience,” she said.
“It’s taking an average of five years to find work for those who need the most help.”
She said each jobseeker needed a tailored approach to take into account their situation, strengths and goals.
“It means helping people find the right training programs and jobs for them — and supporting them to stay in work once they’re there,” Ms Chambers said.
“These changes are urgent. If we don’t fix this broken system, we will go on forcing people to compete for jobs that simply aren’t there.”
The report also recommended an immediate increase in the Newstart and Youth allowances.
The latest job figures showed Tasmania had an unemployment rate of 6 per cent in August, the third highest in the country.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein said there were more than 250,000 Tasmanians in work for the first time when the figures were released last month.
He said 2100 people had found full-time work in past year, about three quarters of the jobs created, and the Government was investing $2.6 billion in infrastructure to stimulate more jobs and investment.