Executive Summary

Workskil Australia conducts quarterly analysis of all its registered job seekers, many of whom are disadvantaged. This snapshot highlights a number of key insights into where they are finding employment and the specific challenges they face in their journey to employment.

The Workskil Australia Work Watch March 2023 Quarter report provides a unique insight into the jobs market and the prospects for some of the nation’s most vulnerable job seekers.

Key observations include:

• The Trades and Services industry is by far the largest employer of unemployed job seekers, representing one-in-three placements during the March quarter.

• Strong residential home and infrastructure activity saw the share of new builder’s labourer jobs rise to 12.7% (up from 10.2% in December 2022 and 5.2% in March 2022).

• New Hospitality & Tourism and Retail roles fell as cost of living pressures mount and reflect cyclical post-Christmas factors.

• These contrasting industry movements are contributing to the gender employment divide given the persistence of work role stereotypes across the various industries.

• From the age of 30, women (both First Nations and Non-First Nations) are more likely to rely upon unemployment benefits than men.

• First Nations Australians represent 3.8% of Australia’s population but 20% of the number of people who receive unemployment benefits. This highlights significant over- representation of First Nations peoples struggling to find work and reliant upon Government support.

• 11% of the job seekers who gained employment are from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.

• 13.5% of women and 10.4% of men who found work identified as having a mental health condition.

• 13.6% of men and 8.9% of women identified as having experienced homelessness, and of the job seekers making this disclosure, 36% were First Nations peoples.

As a not-for-profit and charity, Workskil Australia delivers a variety of employment programs and community services to Australians in need of assistance.

Many of our customers engage in the Australian Government’s welfare programs and represent a significant portion of the nation’s unemployed working age population.

We undertake and publish this data analysis because our customers deserve a voice, and we have the ability to share their collective story.