Charity says people being trapped in poverty while trying to ‘compete for jobs that simply do not exist’

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

At least five people are applying for every entry-level position advertised as Australia’s most disadvantaged jobseekers are forced to compete against growing numbers of underemployed people for a dwindling number of suitable jobs, a report has found.

Anglicare’s Annual Jobs Availability Snapshot, released on Wednesday, found there were 5.49 people competing for each entry-level job, while one in seven jobseekers faced difficulties getting into work such as a disability or minimal education.

As the government rejects calls to lift Newstart, the charity’s report said people were being trapped in poverty and receiving welfare penalties for failing to effectively look for work because they were forced to “compete for jobs that simply do not exist”.

To measure how many jobs are available for those without qualifications or work experience, the report compares the number of people engaged with the government’s Jobactive program that are considered disadvantaged with the amount of low-skilled or entry-level jobs advertised at a given time.

It found there were about 100,000 disadvantaged jobseekers in May, of a total of 700,000, while there were only 18,200 low-skilled “level 5” jobs advertised. These jobs made up only 10% of all jobs.

“As this snapshot highlights, there are simply not enough suitable jobs for people who need the most assistance to get them,” the report said.

Anglicare said the results were conservative because they did not take into account the 1.6 million workers who considered themselves underemployed over the same period in May.

The charity said the system was particularly failing people with disabilities, who made up about two-thirds of all disadvantaged jobseekers.

Glen Acheson, 50, is on a disability support pension but told Guardian Australia he would also like to be in part-time work.

“I’ve been basically doing piece work on rural properties, picking fruit and things like that,” he said. “I try to keep things as basic as I can. I try to do piecework because I don’t have tertiary education to be endowed with an income that’s higher than my benefits.”

Acheson, who lives in Rockhampton, said he attends an outsourced employment service provider once a fortnight in order to look for a job.

“I look on the computer but the jobs are categorised too highly with qualifications,” he said. “I need more training. [A wage is considerably less] than my benefit. I lose my healthcare card if put on full time over a certain period of time. It’s demeaning.”

Acheson’s last job at a laundromat came from a referral from his provider but he was angry he had been asked to work for a week unpaid.

“The job network is providing people with with a disability employment,” he said. “Why would they have to work a week unpaid just to prove they are capable?”

On Monday, the social services minister, Anne Ruston, again ruled out an increase to Newstart after a Food Bank report found as many as one in five Australians had gone hungry at least once in the past 12 months.

The government says it is focused on getting those on welfare into work, arguing it is creating a record number of jobs and has also reduced the number of people receiving income support.

However, the average waiting time for a person on Newstart is now about three years. Meanwhile, the Anglicare report said most of the jobs created over the past two decades were out of reach for the most disadvantaged jobseekers.

Anglicare said the findings proved the need to increase Newstart and Youth Allowance, which is about $280 a week for a single person over 21.

It also called for a reversal of policy changes from successive governments that pushed tens of thousands of people of the disability pension and on to the dole, and an overhaul of the employment services system.

The report cited analysis in Guardian Australia showing that while about 580,000 people had their welfare payments suspended in the past financial year of a total 744,000 jobseekers, one in five were found not to be at fault.