The Australian Council of Social Service has released its Faces of Unemployment report for 2024, finding that job opportunities continue to decline while support payments aren't enough.
The report found that there was a “mismatch” between those seeking jobs and the number of entry-level positions available, which left those unemployed relying on "punishingly low" support payments.
This mismatch around entry-level job availability also pushed more people into relying on income support long-term.
ACOSS reported that a total of 557,000 people have been receiving unemployment payments for more than a year, and 190,000 for more than five years.
ACOSS chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said they hadn't seen much done at all to “genuinely tackle the level of poverty” in Australia.
Australia has the lowest unemployment payment of all 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries at just $56 a day, which Goldie called "poverty level".
The report concluded that a "complete overhaul" of the employment services system is needed, with the current system “harming” Australians and failing to get them away from long term support payments and into sustainable jobs.