Labor electorates to benefit most from JobMaker wage scheme for young workers

Scott Morrison is demanding Labor pass his JobMaker wage subsidy scheme for young workers when parliament returns on Monday.

‘We also know from past experience that if young people lose work in a recession and can’t find their way back, they risk becoming a lost generation’: Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Scott Morrison is demanding Labor pass his JobMaker wage subsidy scheme for young workers when parliament returns on Monday, with analysis showing workers in ALP electorates will benefit the most.

JobMaker offers employers between $100 and $200 a week in hiring credits to cover the wages of workers aged up to 35, but Anthony Albanese says the policy in its current form leaves older Australians behind.

The Prime Minister said on Sunday the hiring credits were needed to address a specific youth unemployment crisis, and noted that the seven federal seats where the median age was under 32 were all occupied by Labor and the Greens.

“We also know from past experience that if young people lose work in a recession and can’t find their way back, they risk becoming a lost generation,” he said. “We can’t let this happen. We must do everything we can that young people do not start their working life on welfare.

“The facts also show that there are more young people living in Labor electorates. The need in Labor seats is greater need than anywhere else.

“That is why Labor must simply back our JobMaker hiring credit as parliament returns to help get people back into work.”

The median age of workers in opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek’s seat of Sydney and opposition environment spokeswoman Terri Butler’s electorate of Griffith is 32 – an age where a new worker is liable for a $100 hiring credit.

At least a dozen other Labor seats – according to the 2016 census – will also benefit from the hiring credit because their median constituent age is 33 or 34.

The Opposition Leader’s seat of Grayndler is less likely to win out of the hiring credit scheme as the median age of workers in his electorate is 36, a year after the JobMaker cut off point.

It is highly likely Labor will support the JobMaker hiring credit policy, meaning the bill will be passed by the Senate, but opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has said the party was concerned nearly one million unemployed Australians would not qualify for the subsidy.

Under the government’s plan, an eligible employer would receive $200 a week for hiring an unemployed person aged 16 to 29 years, or $100 a week for someone aged 30 to 35, with a maximum benefit of $10,400 for each new position created.

The new employees must work at least 20 hours a week.

To receive the subsidy, an employer must show the hiring of that person has increased their business’s headcount and wages bill compared to September 30.

It will be up to the Treasurer to decide which employers and employees qualify for the payments, as well as the amount payable, timing of the subsidy and obli­gations for recipients.

While JobMaker is set to dominate parliament this week, the Job Ready Graduates package will be approved by the House of Representatives.

The university fee changes will result in the cost of post-pandemic job creator subjects such as science and maths being slashed, while the price of law and humanities units will increase by up to 113 per cent.