The Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish more frequent data on disadvantage as government policy officials attempt to better understand the jobless in a period of extremely low unemployment.
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The federal government promised to investigate the barriers and incentives preventing disadvantaged Australians from entering the workforce, as one of the outcomes of its jobs and skills summit in Canberra last week.
The summit was told the remaining unemployed in a period of very low unemployment often lacked foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy. Funding digital skills training programs was ineffective to better position such individuals for the workplace without first addressing those foundational skills.
Charities Minister Andrew Leigh and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth will today announce an additional $4 million in funding for the ABS to collect and publish data on disadvantaged populations once a year, along with smaller quarterly surveys, up from biennial surveys.
"We know there are many cohorts who want to work but because of perceived bias or barriers, can't get into the workforce," Ms Rishworth said.
Dr Leigh said while data had been collected over time, releasing more frequent data sets would help generate the best policy outcomes.
"This is vital information to help employers tap into the full diversity of talent in Australia and support some of the most marginalised communities in the country to be part of the labour force," he said.
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Federal Labor also promised to work with state and territory governments on "placed-based approaches" that coordinate efforts at the local level to address issues faced by disadvantaged groups and the long-term unemployed that keep them out of work.
The ABS revealed last month that job vacancies outnumbered unemployed people. Almost a third of job seekers (29 per cent) were mature age with an average duration on income support of 334 weeks.
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