Frustrated businesses say JobKeeper is making it hard to find workers

A record number of jobs are being advertised, but businesses say people “just don’t want to work” thanks largely to the dole.

Employers say it is “impossible” to recruit new staffers despite a record number of jobs advertised because people “just don’t want to work” after receiving JobKeeper.

There are more jobs up for grabs in the state than before the 2008 global financial crisis, but applications on employment site Seek have dropped, with 13 per cent fewer submissions in Victoria in March than February of this year.

More than 50,000 Victorian roles are posted on Seek, one of the state’s highest number of simultaneous ad listings in the site’s 23-year history.

There are almost 6000 listings for labourers, making them the state’s most sought after workers, while chefs, wait staff and bartenders were also hard to come by despite 4750 roles listed online.

James Gallagher, who owns a St Kilda Brewery and a bar on Chapel Street, says he is finding it hard to find staff. Picture: Tony Gough

Owner of Empire Design and Construction in Croydon South, Huseyin Cobankara, said jobs’ completion times are blowing out because JobKeeper made it difficult to find motivated workers on top of the 120 contractors he employs.

“We are struggling to find any workers at the moment. Jobs are now taking longer to complete,” Mr Cobankara said.

“JobKeeper makes it harder for businesses. People don’t want to leave home, travel to work, pay for petrol and then work for at least eight hours when they could just be sitting at home. This is not just at Empire, this is a general struggle with a lot of people I know that work in construction.”

James Gallagher, who owns a St Kilda brewery and a bar on Chapel Street, said uncertainties that marred the hospitality industry after last year’s border bans have left him reliant on local workers unwilling to follow the hiring process through.

“We have ads up everywhere but we are finding it hard to find staff,” he said.

“I get no replies on Seek, the only ones I did get back were on JobSearch. I made a couple of calls to them and they just don’t want to work.”

People line up at Centrelink Picture: AAP/Mark Brake

Restaurants and Catering Australia chief Wes Lambert said a “perfect storm” of border closures and Aussies typically being less reluctant to relocate interstate for work have slashed the state’s available workforce and widened the gap between the number of qualified roles and workers.

“Hospitality jobs have historically been filled by international workers,” Mr Lambert said.

“Completion of food TAFE (courses) has dropped 39.3 per cent. This has led to a lack of skilled and semi-skilled hospitality workers.”

Clayton job hunter Alicia Ng, 26, said finding consistent communications work since the pandemic proved difficult because recruiters would disregard her submissions for scarce junior roles.

“There are almost no entry-level jobs (in communications) and employers did not respond to my applications,” she said.

Seek’s Australia and New Zealand managing director Kendra Banks said a reduced labour supply and workers taking a more cautious approach to their career contributed to the stagnant application rate, at its lowest level since 2012.