The Experience of Unemployment in Three Victorian Regions

Abstract

This report is one of the publications resulting from a joint project on unemployment which was planned, devised and carried out by staff at the Social Welfare Research Centre (in particular by Bettina Cass, Pauline Garde and Diana Encel) and by Graeme Brewer at the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The project examined unemployment both in New South Wales and Victoria.

The object of the research was to collect information on the labour market, education and job training, income and housing situation of unemployed people, their job seeking networks, labour market training aspirations, and income security and other social welfare needs. The interview studies were planned with a regional focus because it was our contention that the experience of unemployment, and the job training and job creation programmes required to combat it must be explored and understood in a regional context. Local labour markets require study in relation to regional housing and transport policies. However, the data published here also have implications for income security, social services and labour market training policies which are national in their scope and significance.

Graeme Brewer's findings in the Victorian end of the study are contained in this report, providing the results of his interviews in three regions, an inner city and an outer suburban region of Melbourne and in a country town. A separate report of the survey carried out by the New South Wales team is to be published in due course.