WHILE some of his friends made big plans to mark the new year, Dwayne Pitts kept things simple. He stayed at home.

''I'm like, how can you afford that? I don't have a hundred dollars spending money in a week, let alone to spend on one night,'' the 29-year-old says.

On the breadline … Dwayne Pitts at home in Ashfield. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Mr Pitts's main goal for 2013 has, so far, proven similarly beyond his reach. After more than three years of unemployment, hundreds of applications and dozens of interviews, he hopes this year to get a job.

''I anxiously await the day where I don't require the government [payment] any more. At the moment it's that or not survive,'' he says.