Job search experience

Australian Journal of Career Development, Autumn, 2008 by James A. Athanasou

In helping people find work we should aim to provide services that address their needs. What sorts of difficulties do people report? What steps do people take in order to find work? Have there been any changes over time? Answers to some of these questions are provided by the recent release of the official statistics relating to Job Search Experience (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Catalogue No. 6222.0, December 2007).

Like all such statistics, this data paints an overall picture and is not intended to describe individual cases. At best, it reflects overall trends. Where do we begin? In considering job search experiences, the Australian Statistician distinguished between (a) unemployed persons and (b) employed persons who started their current job in the previous 12 months. Now what sort of normal person would come up with the phrase 'employed persons who started their current job in the previous 12 months'--only a government statistician could get away with this. Why not a useful acronym such as EPWSTCJITP12M? It just rolls off the tongue and is so much easier to remember!

If we take the modal person who was unemployed, they are likely to be 25 to 34 years of age (20%; all percentages rounded); a husband, wife or partner in a household (34%); without a non-school qualification (60%); and in all likelihood without any jobs in the previous 12 months (76%). If we take the other side of the coin, that is the employed persons who started their current job in the previous 12 months, there are some similarities. Most were also aged 25 to 34 years (28%); they also tended to be a husband, wife or partner (49%); but they were more likely to have a non-school qualification (57%) and had started only one job in the previous 12 months (75%). The clearest differences seem to be in having a post-school qualification such as a degree, diploma or certificate. Of course, it does not mean that having a qualification is a guarantee against unemployment because 164 900 out of the 414 200 persons who were unemployed had a qualification.

What steps did people take to find work? Despite the longstanding evidence for the utility of contacting friends or relatives, only 46% of unemployed persons and 28% of employed persons who had started a job in the previous 12 months used this avenue for job search.

Writing, phoning or applying in person to an employer for work was by far the most popular step taken to obtain a job (84% for unemployed persons and 60% of employed persons). Internet use was popular (66% for unemployed persons and 42% of employed persons). The major difference between these groups was that unemployed persons answered an advertisement for a job on Centrelink touch screens (18% of unemployed persons and 3% of employed persons) or registered with a Job Network employment agency (49% of unemployed persons and 14% of employed persons). These actions may relate to the formal requirements for social security benefits.

The details are overwhelming. At times these are difficult to absorb because they are abstract and not so meaningful. Nevertheless they do paint a helpful macro picture for those involved in some form of employment counselling or placement services.

What sort of difficulties have unemployed persons faced in finding work? A key issue is that of skills and qualifications. Just over 10% said that they lacked the necessary skills for education and around the same number said they had insufficient work experience. A commonly reported difficulty was ill health or disability (10%).

Has there been any change over time? Over the period 2000 to 2007 there has been a decline in those who say that their main difficulty in finding work was that there were too many applicants for available jobs or that there were no vacancies at all. In what has largely been a period of full employment, there has been an increase from 6% in July 2000 to just under 10% in July 2007 in those who said that the main difficulty was their ill health or disability. This period saw a decline in the median duration of unemployment from 20 weeks in 2000 down to 12 weeks in 2007.

Naturally, there are also differences in difficulty finding work depending on the duration of someone's current period of unemployment. Again, health or disability is a major difficulty for those unemployed one year and over (16%) together with being considered too old by employers (11%). For those who were unemployed between 1-8 weeks, 21% reported no difficulties at all (other reasons in this group were too many applicants per available jobs--10%; no vacancies in line of work--9%; insufficient work experience--8%).

One could continue to reel off statistics and data but this would try the patience of any reader. It becomes difficult to see the forest for the trees when one is swamped by so many percentages. What stands out for me is the importance of skills and qualifications as a partial insurance against unemployment. This is also related directly to the most commonly reported difficulties in finding work. The disadvantage of ill-health or disability was consistently high. These are two areas in which meaningful social and educational policies can provide a positive impetus to overcoming long-term unemployment.