Millions of young Australians have been left unemployed as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. In an attempt to get more people aged between 16 and 35 back into the workforce the federal government has introduced a new scheme called the “JobMaker Hiring Credit”.
As outlined in the recent 2020-21 Federal Budget, the treasury estimates that the scheme will create an upwards of 450,000 new jobs over the next 12 months. Focusing on getting young Australians back into the workforce is an essential part of economic recovery as the nation hopes to move away from the covid-19 inflicted recession.
As of November 2020, youth unemployment sat at 14.5%, which was close to double the economy-wide average. Due to the closure of industries such as; hospitality, retail and the performing arts it is noted that young Australians lost more working hours than older people during the Covid-lockdown.
The actual hours worked were 12 percent below March for individuals aged 15-24 years and 6.9 percent below for those aged 25-34 years. In comparison; only 2.8 percent and one percent respectively for individuals aged 35-54 and people over the age of 55.
Craig Dangar from C&D Restructure & Taxation Advisory says that “for employers looking to expand their offering, JobMaker is a strong opportunity to engage with younger employees. We have noted that within our clients that there has been an increase in social media staff hires and accessing more digital staff through the incentive”.
“Times are uncertain but this policy is one that reduces the risk for business and makes hiring a lot easier. For businesses that are on the fence about hiring this should make the decision one that can be economically pursued” says Mr. Dangar.
Another potential benefit of the JobMaker scheme is that it could result in employers hiring people they wouldn’t have initially considered thus giving work to individuals who have been left unemployed for an extended period of time. The JobMaker scheme will also make it easier for recent university graduates to find employment in their chosen field of profession following the completion of their studies.
As an employer over the age of 35 Mr. Dangar says that hiring young people who have grown up in the era of social media will prove to be highly beneficial to businesses who are aspiring to build a more meaningful connection with their customers online. “Examining the hard-aged cut offs it is definitely a disincentive for some businesses, but we argue that the engagement with younger employees will assist businesses that may have struggled to kick off with digital engagement or moving their business online”.
“The Government support offered through JobKeeper has been beneficial for businesses with existing staff, but we believe that Jobmaker is the key legislative assistance package for businesses to re-engage with the workplace” says Craig Dangar.