Unemployment and work

1
Unemployment and work

• Alison McClelland
• SWP121SPP Social Policy and Practice A
• SWP12PPI Policy, Poverty and Inequality
• 2006
• Lectures 15 and 16.

2
Outline

• References
• Importance of work
• Unemployment
• Long-term unemployment and Joblessness
• Part-time, casual underemployment and precarious
  work
• Consequences of changing work
• Explanations
• Policy responses
• Work and gender

3
References

• Quiggin and Bell (in McClelland and Smyth)
• Lister see outline
• Also Argy (in reading pack)
• Article by Saunders on full-time employment and
  poverty (see SPRC web site)

4
Importance of work

• Income close association between work and income
  and work and poverty
• Structure and meaning to the day
• Social contact and self esteem
• Difference between paid and unpaid work (gender
  issues here)
• Relationship between work and income support

5
Relationship between work and income

• Work main source income for 57.5 households
  was principal income source 2003-04 in 94/95
• Govt. payments principal source for 27.7 28.4
  94/95 (ABS 2005)
• For lowest 20 income earners govt payments
  principal source for 77 9.8 had wages
  salaries
• Having a full-time job most important protector
  against poverty

6
What is unemployment

• International Labour Office definition
• Not working (not even 1 hour per week)
• Looking for work
• Available to start in the following week
• Labour force employed unemployed
• Unemployment rate
• Per cent of the labour force who are unemployed
• Employment rate
• Per cent of population in paid work
• Participation rate
• Per cent of population over 15 in the labour
  force

7
Unemployment rate 1995-2005(ABS Cat. No. 6202.-
Ziguras)
8
Explanations (Ziguras)

• Reserve army, necessary for economic growth,
  lowers labour costs (Marxist)
• Insufficient demand lack of job (Keynes)
• Increased labour supply (women in jobs)
• Globalisation and economic adjustment (Social
  liberal/social democrat)
• Labour force rigidities (neo-liberal)
• Job snobs, individual behaviour (Conservative,
  new paternalism)

9
Long-term unemployment and joblessness

• Unemployment still around 500000) and much more
  in certain areas
• 19 of these (100000) unemployed for I year or
  more
• Joblessness much higher around 30 working age
  population no job in 2000
• Joblessness concentrated in families 13 in
  households where working age head and no one in
  work 17 children (2004) amongst highest of
  OECD

10
Not enough work insecure work(precarious)

• Growth of part-time jobs averaged 4.6 pa for
  past 20 years compared with overall jobs growth
  of 1.9. Now 28 P/T with 26.3 of these wanting
  more hours.
• ABS extended underutilisation rate of 12.2
• Around 27 casual employment
• Australia high rate P/T and casual jobs
• More likely P/T and casual if unskilled
• 14.3 low pay when low pay is F/T earning less
  than 2/3 median earnings (1999).

11
Impacts loss of full-time jobs

• Big impact is loss of full-time jobs for males.
  Keating (2004) finding that for men aged 45-54
  and 55-64 proportion employed full-time has
  declined by 16 and 32 percentage points
  respectively. Richardson finding that at least
  20 males aged 25-54 not in full-time work in
  2003.

12
Impacts

• Increase in welfare receipt 28 households main
  source income from Government in 2000/01.
• Increase in inequality from earnings.
• Increase in spatial inequality
• Delay in family formation and home purchase
• Increase in work, income and family insecurity
• Increase in working time pressures for some
  families

13
Unemployment in 2001 (Scutella 2005)
14
Solutions

• Labour market flexibility
• Economic growth
• Active labour market policy (variants)
• Investment and industry policies
• Corporatist incomes policies
• public sector job creation
• Mutual obligation and welfare reform

15
Women, work and caring

• Lack of income from work major reason for womens
  economic inequality
• Women less likely to be in work although
  participation increased, especially with children
• But still part-time and interrupted
• Impacts on assets (superannuation)
• Need to be able to combine work with caring and
  have greater equal caring between men and women
  re caring to achieve greater equality