There are not enough jobs in Australia for the number of people with limited skills and experience who are looking for work, according to a new report.

It shows there is only one job advertised for every six low-skilled jobseekers in Australia, and the problem is worsening.

The Anglicare report, Positions Vacant? When the Jobs Aren’t There, has warned the growing complexity of the economy has contributed to a downward trend for lower-skilled roles over the last decade, and an increase in demand for high-level roles.

It raised concerns about the number of low-skilled people being pushed below the poverty line because the labour market can no longer accommodate them.

According to the report, 13% of all jobs advertised in May were for entry-level positions, which require year 10 or equivalent education, marking a steep decline from 21% in 2006. By comparison, more than 37% of jobs advertised in May were for high-level positions, which require a bachelor degree or higher qualification.

Over the past 12 months, positions at the highest skill level were the most frequently advertised, averaging 60,000 a month, compared with just 25,000 positions for the lowest skill level.

Tony Nicholson, the executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, said it was becoming harder for unemployed and low-skilled people to find a job in Australia. “Our modern economy is placing a greater focus on knowledge and service-based industries, it’s placing a real premium on skills and qualifications and experience,” he said on Monday.

“As a consequence, we’re seeing a dramatic decline in the level of low-skilled, entry-level jobs – the type of jobs that, in past decades, unemployed people could have easily walked into and used as a base to build a career path.”

Nicholson said even in areas of strong employment growth, such as social care and health, employers now demand that employees have qualifications and skills.

He said the government needed to understand that unemployed people need help to develop the skills and capabilities to match the types of jobs being created by the modern economy. “This reality is starting to dawn on many policymakers,” he said.

The Anglicare report condemns the “continuing public campaign in politics and the media” that suggests people without work are entirely responsible for their own circumstances, and that they could and should try harder and more successfully to get a job.

It says policymakers need to understand that the economy has become increasingly complex. “Disadvantaged job seekers confront additional barriers to employment,” the report says.

“They also face a strong presumption that there would be work available to them if they tried harder, and – for those on income support – have to live with a number of activity tests and financial penalties informed by that presumption.

“In other words, rather than looking at the most effective mechanisms for improving participation by the unemployed, especially disadvantaged jobseekers, successive governments have adopted approaches aimed at shaping behaviour and punishing people when they do not respond as required.”

The report comes days after Christian Porter, the social services minister, ­warned the welfare system was flawed because “thousands of parents claiming government benefits are financially better off not getting a job”.

He made the case for welfare cuts by claiming a single parent with four children could receive $52,523 from various government payments, an amount more than the $39,841 take-home pay of the median worker.

But his claim has been hotly disputed.