JOB JUGGLE AS AUSTRALIANS STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirm Labor’s long-held concerns about the underlying problems in the labour market such as the rise in underemployment and insecure work.

 

The Labour Account study shows that more than 700,000 Australians are holding down a second job in order to make ends meet. This represents an increase of 9.2 per cent over the past six years.

 

While there were 13.2 million jobs in June 2016, the number of employed people was only 12.5 million.

 

The ABS noted that growth in secondary jobs surpassed the growth in main jobs for the past three years.

 

At the same time, underemployment remains at record highs with more than 1.1 million Australians wanting more work but not being able to find it – there are 1.8 million of our fellow Australians who are either unemployed or underemployed.

 

These statistics point to serious underlying problems in the labour market need to be addressed. Work in this country is becoming more insecure, wages growth is at record lows, and we are seeing Australians take up second jobs in order to try and make ends meet.

 

Despite this, Malcolm Turnbull does nothing, because he leads a government which cares more about protecting the privileges of the top end of town than it does about making life easier for working and middle class Australians.

 

The Turnbull government gives tax cuts to millionaires and supports cuts to penalty rates – showing yet again how out of touch it is with the day to day reality of life of most Australians. Turnbull needs to take a leaf our of Labor’s book, and try talking to real workers in the labour market, who are becoming increasingly casualised and precarious at work.

  

The Government should be getting on with addressing these sorts of issues rather than providing a tax cut to millionaires.