Earlier this week, the conservative media ran reports arguing that Aussies receiving ‘generous’ emergency income support were shunning jobs. It came after prime minister Scott Morrison on Monday referred to “anecdotal feedback” that some businesses were finding it difficult to find staff because of the boosted payments.
However, unpublished data from SEEK shows that the number of job applications submitted to employers in June was significantly above pre-coronavirus levels.
The figures show that at the end of June, the number of applicants per job was 16% higher than in February, while candidate availability was about 30% higher than in February. This is despite the fact that the JobSeeker unemployment benefit was temporarily doubled due to the virus, and suggestions that this has resulted in some businesses finding it hard to recruit staff:
