Social imapcts of inequality

Increased inequality

Lower income workers such as the young and unskilled are more likely to experience periods of unemployment. Due to the loss of income, they are relatively worse off compared to high income earners, contributing to poverty and overall inequality due to income distribution.

Unemployment for specific groups

Unemployment is far more severe for some groups in society compared to others. High youth unemployment rates come as employers are looking for workers that have education training and experience. 

Indigenous Australians face relatively high unemployment rates, especially in regional and remote areas. 

Older workers also have greater difficulty in finding work once they have lost a job.

Immigrants have a high rate of unemployment for newcomer’s first year in the country as they integrate and adjust to the language and other differences. However the rate drops after they have been in Australia for more than 10 years, and tend to have lower unemployment rates than those who are Australian born. 

stats for Unemployment for specific groups

In 2019–20, 62% of people in households whose main earner was unemployed were in poverty — the strongest direct link between unemployment and economic hardship. This fell to around 37% during COVID with income supports, demonstrating that policy can interrupt the connection but not eliminate the underlying risk. On ABS Census night 2021, more than 122,000 Australians were experiencing homelessness — a 5.2% increase from 2016 — with 20% being First Nations people. Unemployment and homelessness reinforce each other: homeless individuals are 1.4 times more likely to lose their jobs than those with stable housing.
Among specialist homelessness clients with a mental health issue, 87% were not in paid work (2024–25), and 56% were actively unemployed 

Social benefits

Incentivizing Skill Acquisition and Education

Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Innovation