The minister of Finances, Joe Hockey, has presented his first federal budget in the name of austerity. With regard to work, two new programs have been announced. The first one is a wage subsidy to encourage employers to hire jobseekers of over 50 years old. The second one will be of effect on the federal program “Work for the Dole” (compulsory work against benefits) to help young jobseekers develop skills that employers look for in potential staff.
Wage subsidy. Employers can receive up to 10,000 Australian dollars in subsidies if they hire a jobseeker of 50 years or older, in accordance with the wage subsidy plan. This could help over 32,000 jobseekers of 50 years or older every year. Employers will receive 3000 dollars if they hire somebody fulltime that was previously unemployed for six months and then decide to hire him for at least six months. Once the jobseeker has worked with the employer for twelve months, the employer will...
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