David Taylor reported this story on Friday, June 17, 2016 12:20:00

KIM LANDERS: Jobs and the economy have dominated this election, and both sides are campaigning on the issue again today.



In Hobart, Labor leader Bill Shorten has outlined his plan to tackle youth unemployment.



BILL SHORTEN: We are proposing that 20,000 young people between 15 and 24 get the opportunity to do six weeks of pre-work preparation, just getting some of those essential skills together, the discipline to be able to hold down a job.



Then we're proposing that they would get six months of paid work with an employer at award wages.



And what we're also offering these young people is the opportunity to get a Certificate III qualification in the particular discipline in which they are engaged.



KIM LANDERS: Meantime, Malcolm Turnbull has been in northern New South Wales where he's announced a $25 million jobs and investment package for the North Coast.



MALCOLM TURNBULL: We're talking about business innovation, we're talking about infrastructure, we're talking about training.



They're the three areas of focus.



The $25 million will attract matched funding. The aim is to partner with businesses, with local government and with state government to leverage that investment to create more opportunities and greater investment because we know investment drives employment.



More investment, more economic activity, more jobs.



KIM LANDERS: Well, when the latest unemployment figures were released yesterday, we saw that the 18,000 new jobs created last month were all part-time.



Workers in Australia's tourism hubs where much of the economic activity is concentrated are in hot demand, but there's little full-time employment.



Job placement companies are saying businesses are reluctant to give people full-time work because they're worried about the economic outlook.



David Taylor reports.



DAVID TAYLOR: Elizabeth Ross runs a recruitment business in Far North Queensland.



The business is strategically placed near some of Australia's biggest tourism hubs.



She sends graduates into tourism and hospitality-related roles including as deck hands and diving instructors.



But she says the businesses she talks to aren't willing to provide many, if any, permanent or long term employment opportunities right now.



ELIZABETH ROSS: One of the biggest things is, "What happens when we have a downturn, what do we do then?"



DAVID TAYLOR: The explosion in demand for part-time and casual roles means Elizabeth Ross seeks out backpackers to fill the positions.



That presents its own challenges with many freshly trained-up back-packers unable to give tourists hot tips about local spots to visit.



ELIZABETH ROSS: In fact, we're trying to... I'm working on a program with one of the places in Port Douglas which we're calling it 'restaurant ready'; trying to make people ready for working locally because the tourists that come in don't realise that most of the other people that they're being served by are not local either.



So when they say well, "What is the best tour to do" they can't answer it because they've only just arrived in town themselves.



DAVID TAYLOR: Ms Ross says the current jobs market place isn't sustainable and won't help the economy in the long-run.



ELIZABETH ROSS: If people want to live here, they've got to have something more than, you know, the odd two or three nights work.



SHANE OLIVER: There are some worrying signs here.



DAVID TAYLOR: Shane Oliver is the chief economist at AMP.



SHANE OLIVER: Quite a bit chunk of the work force is still under utilised if you like and that, of course, is all a drag for consumer spending. It's a drag for, it's negative for job satisfaction so there are some worrying signs there.



DAVID TAYLOR: The AMP crunches the numbers. You talk to businesses and companies out there as part of your research. Why? Why aren't employers willing to take on employees Monday to Friday?



SHANE OLIVER: There's a whole bunch of factors here. Some of them are very long-term. There's a casualisation of the workforce, more flexible workplaces, more flexible working arrangements.



DAVID TAYLOR: Because employees aren't confident that they'll be able to keep someone on for, you know, August, September, October?



SHANE OLIVER: I think there is, yes, there is a degree of a lack of confidence there as well.



So on the one hand people working shorter hours, you know, when people do that voluntarily, that's probably good for them, gives them more flexibility but a lot of what we're seeing here is not, is not voluntary on the part of the workers.



They're just accepting what's available to them and I think we are in an environment where the corporate sector remains very cautious.



We seem to be going from one global crisis to another lately.



It's Brexit, that creates unease in the minds of employers and of course, they therefore go for part-time work as opposed to full-time workers and I guess we've also gone through this environment where there is intense competition out there.



You know, why is inflation so low? It's because this massive competitive in the retail market for example. How do retailers respond to that, they respond in a way that tries to keep their costs down and so they're again going for part-time workers.



So a whole bunch of factors going on here but I think at the end of the day it is a reflection of the sign of the times.



DAVID TAYLOR: And in what could be another reflection of the "sign of the times", recruiters say job seekers are needing just a little help in dressing appropriately for interviews.



ELIZABETH ROSS: And encouraging people to, you know, actually put on a pair of shoes and not wear your shortest shorts and your mid-riff top when you go off to drop your resume. We're trying to encourage people to think of it like anywhere else. It's all about presentation.



DAVID TAYLOR: And a willingness to accept less work than they want.



KIM LANDERS: David Taylor reporting.