The wheel turns again - recession, long term unemployment and public policy
Peter Davidson
Australian Council of Social Service and post-graduate student, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
Contact Email:   dural1optusnet.com.au

The social policy response to the economic downturn has focused so far on recently retrenched workers and school leavers entering the labour market. Within a few years, long term unemployment is likely to attract the attention of policy makers. This cannot come too soon. Long term unemployment is a key source of poverty, social exclusion and reliance on income support - including DSP and parenting payments as well as Newstart Allowance.

A year after the 1992 recession, the number of long term recipients of Newstart Allowance rose from to people. Fifteen years later it has still not fallen to pre 1990s-recession levels. What can we learn from policies to reduce long term unemployment since the last recession and what are the prospects for success this time?

The presentation will profile long term unemployed and jobless people on income support, and briefly assess the effectiveness of employment assistance and income support policies such as vocational training, work experience, benefit levels and compliance policies. It will then examine the likely impact of the current suite of policies including the new employment services system that replaces the Job Network.

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