Thursday, July 01, 2004
How many long-term unemployed are uni graduates?
“Despite Australia's extended prosperity” (well, for home-owners, anyway) long-term (5 years +) unemployment has increased by more than two-thirds since 1999.
As usual, Labor is congenitally incapable of making real political capital out of these shocking stats – it is fair to say, then, that unemployment-for-life (for some) is one of those rare things, a totally bipartisan policy.
Why aren’t the long-term unemployed rattling the gates of the proverbial president’s palace, then? My guess is because we too easily comply with the terms of our own social marginalisation/invisibility. As uni graduates, we are not supposed to be in this situation – most especially not as long-term unemployed – and yet a sample poll from Work for the Dole program I have participated in suggests that a large majority of long-term unemployed (in inner Melbourne, anyway) are uni graduates.
AFAIK, there are no stats published on whether this is the case more generally. If anyone knows of some, please comment/email me.
“Despite Australia's extended prosperity” (well, for home-owners, anyway) long-term (5 years +) unemployment has increased by more than two-thirds since 1999.
As usual, Labor is congenitally incapable of making real political capital out of these shocking stats – it is fair to say, then, that unemployment-for-life (for some) is one of those rare things, a totally bipartisan policy.
Why aren’t the long-term unemployed rattling the gates of the proverbial president’s palace, then? My guess is because we too easily comply with the terms of our own social marginalisation/invisibility. As uni graduates, we are not supposed to be in this situation – most especially not as long-term unemployed – and yet a sample poll from Work for the Dole program I have participated in suggests that a large majority of long-term unemployed (in inner Melbourne, anyway) are uni graduates.
AFAIK, there are no stats published on whether this is the case more generally. If anyone knows of some, please comment/email me.
