COVID Jobs Finder program finds just 147 jobs in three months
It was unveiled as the “first major element” of the Palaszczuk Government’s worker’s assistance package amid fears 272,000 Queenslanders would be out of work due to the COVID pandemic. But it has helped less than 150 jobseekers find work.
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LESS than 150 jobseekers have found work through a much-touted State Government Jobs Finder program launched almost three months ago.
The jobs portal matches people who have lost their jobs to new roles and was unveiled as the “first major element” of the Palaszczuk Government’s worker’s assistance package amid fears 272,000 Queenslanders would be out of work by this month.
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So far, 147 jobs placements have been made under the program that pays recruiters $350 for each person they successfully place after they work 40 hours.
Employment and Small Business Minister Shannon Fentiman said the success so far was encouraging and job placements were expected to grow.
“While the program is still in its early days, it gives Queenslanders confidence that we are laying the foundation for when the economy recovers, they will have this extra assistance from over 200 recruiters to help them take advantage of new job opportunities,” she said.
But Opposition Deputy Leader Tim Mander said the Government’s economic response to the coronavirus was “completely inadequate”.
“With a record 200,000 Queenslanders out of work, the Palaszczuk Government needs a real economic plan not just more of the same ineffective policies it has poorly implemented over the last five years,” he said.
Queensland’s official unemployment rate in May was 7.9 per cent, with 204,400 actively looking for a job.
But those figures mask a much worse problem as people on JobKeeper and others who have given up the search are not reflected in that data.