This is the first in a week-long series of reports on unemployment in Australia.
Across Australia, job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic are continuing.
Some of the areas that suffered the largest job cuts are the Coffs Harbour and Grafton regions on the New South Wales north coast.
Since COVID-19 took hold, the number of jobs there fell by 11.2 per cent due to devastating hits to the lucrative tourism, food and recreation sectors. Unemployment in the region as of May stood at 5.9 per cent.
Harry Barry owns four pubs and leases a further three in and around Coffs Harbour. He employed 195 people before the pandemic struck.
Only 90 of them were eligible for JobKeeper, meaning the rest had to be let go.
“It was an awful thing. It’s not something I’d ever want to do again,” Mr Barry told SBS News.
Harry Barry owns and operates four pubs, and leases a further three. Source: SBS News/Omar Dehen
“It was terrible, you know, you go and tell 110 people that ‘I don’t have any work for you at the moment, bear with me’."
With the doors to his pubs closed, Mr Barry had to quickly pivot his business model, moving into food takeaway and delivery to stifle the heavy financial toll. Fortunately, his existing bottleshops were able to remain open.
“From the get-go, we said we would rather be ramping up than reopening because reopening is just too hard,” he said.
“We had never done home delivery, never wanted to, to be honest, because part of our model is to get many bums on seats. The more people in, the better opportunity you have to make more money out of them.:
“So the thought of me suddenly becoming a takeaway owner and a home delivery driver, it never really dawned on me.”
Seventy-two per cent of businesses in the regions took up Jobkeeper, but that did not stop more than one in ten jobs disappearing.
“I think we’re starting to see that real sense of community and people understanding that if you don’t support local business then doors do shut and people do lose jobs,” said Martin Wells, president of the Coffs Harbour Chamber of Commerce.
“The local economy and business has just been absolutely smashed over the last 12 months, with bushfires, floods, COVID. I guess it’s now up to infrastructure to continue to maintain the local economy and to keep things ticking along whilst local businesses continue to rebuild.”
But amid the struggle, there are pockets of growth, notably at Raw Food Hub, which connects produce from farmers directly to local homes by delivering customised grocery boxes.
It started the year with four employees, now has 12, and expects to have 24 by the year’s end.
Its founder Josh Allen says he also plans to build an agricultural campus to teach young farmers how to grow a profitable business.
Josh Allen founded Raw Food Hub in 2007. Source: SBS News/Omar Dehen
“If we can bridge that gap between the customer who really loves eating this organic product, and farmer who says ‘what should I grow?’ then we’re going to work right up and down the supply chain to provide that," he said.
“It’s not about looking at it just from a commercial perspective ... it’s about sharing the benefit across the whole industry. How can we bring everyone up? From the farmers, to the landholders, to the customers.”
Young people hit hard
Youth unemployment, at 12.9 per cent, is of particular concern in the region despite a dramatic improvement before the pandemic struck, with a raft of local initiatives seeing the rate reduced from 23.3 per cent within 12 months.
Coffs Harbour High School has several programs in place dedicated to helping students find their way into the workforce.
“I think the area where we get most young people employed at the moment is retail and hospitality, and they’re two areas that are hard hit,” careers advisor Dionne Court said.
“There are opportunities, it’s a case of ensuring that young people, and their parents and the school, are actually supporting them to find those opportunities. And being brave to have a go at putting themselves out there to learn some new skills.”
Year 10 student Zane Morrison is one student putting himself out there. He is completing work experience at his family’s auto repair shop alongside a part-time job in retail.
Zane Morrison is gaining skills at his family's auto repair shop. Source: SBS News/Omar Dehen
“It’s just basically an early start and you go to school three days a week, but you can put in that extra time after school or on the weekend to catch up with your work,” he said.
“It’s really not that hard and it’s just a head start on basically everyone in the workforce.”
Year 11 student Troy Stuart was doing a traineeship as a lifeguard at the Coffs Harbour War Memorial Pool, as he completes a Certificate Three in sports and leisure at TAFE. But his placement has been put on hold as a result of the shutdowns.
“I’m really enjoying it a lot, but obviously due to COVID it’s made it a bit of a struggle to get my required hours up, that I need,” he said.
“I still feel confident in being able to find a place and get all the work I need. I’ve developed a lot of responsibility since gaining extra jobs, it just gives you that extra criteria on your resumé when you’re older."
While some confidence is beginning to return to businesses along the Coffs Coast, there is a sense of uncertainty about what will happen when temporary government subsidies come to an end.
Zane Morrison and Troy Stuart recommend getting work experience. Source: SBS News/Omar Dehen
"I don’t know what to expect, it's sort of like a false dawn at the moment,” Mr Barry said.
“There’s a lot of free money out there at the moment, I think people are spending money quite happily at the moment, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in September when the banks turn back on and when the JobKeeper gets turned off.”
In the interim, Mr Wells is warning businesses not to spend beyond their means.
“If that unemployment rate can’t continue to be held at a reasonable level locally, then businesses are having to import or bring in other people into the area to try and fill vacancies that may exist,” he said.
