Virus will cost Australia $170b. Low skilled women will be hardest hit.

Labor backbencher Claire O’Neil is giving an address this week in Melbourne on the impact COVID-19 is having and will continue to have on low-skilled women who are already being left behind in the workforce.

Figures for the economy worldwide are extremely confronting, with modelling by the Reserve Bank on the impact of the virus on economies worldwide as high as between $US14.7 trillion and $US21.8 trillion.

With key areas such as Investment, consumption and employment all likely to take a year and in some cases several years to recover, it is the women who have few skills who will find it the most difficult to find employment.

This situation is serious for these women, who in later years will hope to retire with superannuation. They will have missed out on years of earning money and putting aside money for their retirement through superannuation.

There is an alarming number of women who did not study beyond high school or Certificate 1. 600,000 of them were either unemployed or underemployed before the virus struck…between 30% and 40% before the virus were underutilised.

Unemployment figures released recently indicated that while 380,700 men had lost their jobs, 457,500 women have lost their jobs.

Ms. O’Neill will reveal in her address that the number of unemployed women doubled between the global financial crisis and the period before COVID-19.  

All of this signals a difficult time ahead for those low-skilled workers as they attempt to find work to support themselves and very often their children into the future.

Annie Young

28/06/2020

This article has been prepared by WR Law. The information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. You should speak with Rosa Raco directly about your specific circumstances via email rraco@wrlaw.com.au or phone 03 54996131