“Australia’s youth unemployment crisis is worsening as Australia continues to tumble down global international competitiveness rankings”, said Kurt Wallace, Research Fellow with the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs.
Today the Institute of Public Affairs released a report, Expanding Economic Opportunity: An International Comparison of Australia’s Labour Market Regulation, which shows the performance of Australia’s labour market is deteriorating when compared with competitor nations.
“Too many young Australians are missing out on the dignity of work. Work is what provides meaning and enables the formation of self-sustaining families and communities.”
“The best form of welfare is work. The goal of public policy should be to get as many Australians into work as possible.”
“Australia is facing a growing crisis in underemployment. 1.7 million Australians are either unemployed or unable to find their desired amount of work. The rates are worse for young people with nearly 30 per cent of the youth labour force being underutilised.”
“Australians aren’t getting a pay rise because Australia’s industrial relations system is inflexible. Australia ranks 105th out of 140 nations in the world for the inflexibility in wage determination.”
“Australia’s regulation is ranked 110th in the world for the ability of businesses to flexibly hire and fire workers. The difficulty to remove an employee makes businesses reluctant to hire.”
“Australia has the third highest minimum wage in the
world. The young and unskilled are hurt most by the minimum wage which destroys
work opportunities and removes the bottom rung of the career ladder.”
“The proposed living wage is moving in the wrong direction, we need less
regulation on our Industrial Relations system, not more. Put simply, rent
control means people line up for rental properties; price controls mean people
line up for bread; and wage controls mean people line up at Centrelink.”
“Regulation that reduces work flexibility is actively contributing to the problem. Employment red tape needs to be cut to reverse the concerning trends in underemployment and economic competitiveness,” said Mr Wallace.
Download Report – Expanding Economic Opportunity: An International Comparison of Australia’s Labour Market Regulation
