Unemployment in Elizabeth at 33%, prompting calls for government action before Holden closes
A THIRD of all Elizabeth people are out of work, stoking fears the unemployment situation will only worsen when carmaker Holden ceases manufacturing in the area.
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A THIRD of all Elizabeth people are out of work, stoking fears the unemployment situation will only worsen when carmaker Holden ceases manufacturing in the area.
Latest data shows the unemployment rate in Elizabeth is the state’s worst at 33.3 per cent and it has been above 30 per cent since March, 2013.
Welfare advocates fear the planned closure of Holden’s Elizabeth factory in 2017 will exacerbate persistently high long-term unemployment in the area, cementing disadvantage for future generations.
They are calling on the State Government to accelerate measures to generate jobs and replace the industry void that will be left by Holden’s departure.
The suburbs of Smithfield and Elizabeth North recorded South Australia’s next highest jobless rate, of 23.9 per cent combined, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the 2015 September quarter.
SA Council of Social Service executive director Ross Womersley said many people in the northern suburbs would also be underemployed and “unable to generate enough income to live on” securely.
Mr Womersley said it was crucial that governments and the community act now to prevent the next generation also falling into joblessness.
“There’s no doubt that in a tight job market there’s a whole lot of people who are going to struggle,” he said.
“Its going to make life really difficult (for them).”
AnglicareSA acting CEO Jackie Howard said “urgent” action was needed because “these figures are only going to get worse with the shutdown of the automotive industry”.
“It’s important we attract investment to the state and that we’re making and growing the types of things people want to buy,” she said.
“Money also needs to be invested in training so we can ensure we have a well-educated and skilled workforce that’s equipped to work in different industries.”
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the Government had missed a “golden opportunity” to include more economic stimulus measures in the midyear Budget review.
“We have a looming disaster in that area (Elizabeth) and my fear is that the Government just won’t take corrective action,” he said.
“Its extraordinarily tough for anybody who is unemployed in South Australia.”
Acting Employment Minister Susan Close said the Government did not “underestimate the challenge ahead”.
Dr Close argued the midyear Budget review included $518 million in “economic initiatives” supporting more than 1600 jobs.
She said at least half the 480 jobs to be generated by the Northern Connector road project were targeted at local workers.
The rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme would also generate demand for 1700 disability support workers in the northern suburbs.
The Government’s Jobs First employment program is working to match jobseekers with 546 positions identified by employers in northern Adelaide, and a further 135 in the south.
Indigenous given right connection
MARK Mayman is among dozens of Aboriginal employees to gain work on the $985 million Northern Connector road project.
Indigenous contractors Intract Australia and ART Services have been awarded contracts to provide job opportunities for Aboriginal employees on North-South road corridor projects, in both the northern and southern suburbs.
Intract Australia general manager John Briggs said the company employed a 100 per cent Aboriginal workforce of more than 50 fulltime workers.
Mr Mayman, 52, of Paralowie, began preliminary works driving excavators and dump trucks on the Northern Connector project about five weeks ago.
“It is hard to get a job out this way, especially when you’re over a certain age,” he said.
“I’ve got my foot in the door and now I can show the young ones how to get out there and get work.”
Almost 30 long-term unemployed Aboriginal workers are also engaged by ART Services on early works for the $620 million Darlington South Rd upgrade.
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