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August 7, 2019

These 'job snob' claims don't match the evidence

The latest claim that job-seekers are actively snubbing work opportunities flies in the face of research.

The 鈥渏ob snobs鈥� are back on the agenda.

With some in the Australian government鈥檚 own ranks arguing for a lift in the unemployment benefit, senior ministers appear to be upping the rhetoric about joblessness being a matter of choice for many.

鈥淭here are jobs out there for those who want them,鈥� the federal minister for employment, Michaelia Cash, .

Yesterday the Murdoch-owned newspaper published her comments in a front-page story that suggested Department of Employment research showed almost half of all employers were finding it difficult to hire workers due to 鈥渓ack of interest鈥� 鈥� or because applicants did not have adequate qualifications.

The article was vague on which issue was the bigger problem, but it led with the claim 鈥渏ob seekers are 鈥�.

Such rhetoric is not new. Since the 1980s, governments have increasingly stressed 鈥溾��.

Requirements that claimants show they are actively looking for work have become more onerous. Yet talk about  and  continues.

The research, however, suggests these perceptions are largely a myth.

Between 2015 and 2018, we were part of a team studying the well-being, social networks and job search experiences of unemployed Australians.

, funded by the Australian Research Council, involved policy analysis, surveys and in-depth interviews. We talked to employment service providers and 80 job seekers in regional and urban areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

We found no evidence job-seekers preferred not to work. In fact, based on the considerable 鈥渏ob search activity鈥� required of them to meet Centrelink鈥檚 stringent 鈥渕utual obligation鈥� conditions, it was hard not to conclude that, whatever the reasons for their joblessness, lack of willingness to work was not one of them.

Entry-level jobs

While Australia鈥檚 official unemployment rate is 5.2% 鈥�  鈥� structural labour market issues create serious hurdles for some.

One is for older people. Another is for people without experience. A 2017 , for example, found the proportion of entry-level vacancies slipped from 22% to 15% over a decade. This means just one entry-level job for about every five entry-level job seekers.

This helps explain why employers quoted in The Australian鈥檚 story spoke more about 鈥渓ack of job-readiness鈥� being a problem, rather than lack of interest.

For the manager of an inner-Sydney restaurant 鈥渟ifting through stacks of resumes鈥�, the problem might have something to do with those on Newstart having to apply for .

Moving to where the jobs are

One trope used to suggest there are 鈥渏ob snobs鈥� is to invoke job vacancies in regional and rural areas.

Last year the federal government declared job-seekers would have their unemployment payments  if they refused work on farms. Those on taxpayer support, said the prime minister, Scott Morrison, had 鈥渘o excuse to refuse opportunities鈥�.

Packing up and moving for work, however, isn鈥檛 necessarily that simple.

The vast majority of job-seekers in our study expressed a strong general willingness to move for work, and many had relocated in the past.

But whether they would move for a particular opportunity depended on the sorts of factors the rest of us would consider.

They were cautious about moving for short-term, temporary roles given the the cost of moving, for example. Hitting 鈥溾�� was seen as an expensive and risky proposition. Some individuals had no spare cash to move even if they wanted to.

Also important were family considerations 鈥� such as maintaining stability for children in school, or caring for ageing parents.

Some feared they would not be able to find rental accommodation as affordable as what they had. Many younger people still living with their parents were wary of moving away from family support, particularly if they didn鈥檛 own a car.

Many of our interviewees also expressed feelings of depression, perhaps reflecting underlying economic insecurity and uncertainty. Long-term unemployment and poverty are associated with poor mental health, which could affect someone鈥檚 willingness to leave support networks of family and friends.

Shifting responsibility

Our research on the complex reasons that might prevent job-seekers from seizing every job opportunity points to the dangers of making punitive generalisations such as 鈥渢here are jobs out there for those who want them鈥�.

Such rhetoric glosses over the lived realities of being unemployed. It ignores the conditions of individuals鈥� lives. It obscures the structural realities of competitive labour markets. It shifts responsibility for unemployment to the individual.

A richer understanding of the realities of unemployment and poverty, as well as a broader conception of well-being, is needed to solve the problem.

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