Rising accom unemployment but is Jobkeeper 2.0 the panacea?
“In Hilton’s 100 year history, the tourism industry has never been so adversely impacted by a global crisis of this magnitude. Government support will be imperative to not only help our sector gradually recover in 2021 and beyond, and to also help secure the future of our workforce across Australia.”
The statement made by Heidi Kunkel, Hilton vice president of operations, Australasia, was in response to startling figures recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which shows the accom sector was the hardest hit by unemployment in the 12 months to March 2020.
The ABS Tourism Satellite Account: quarterly tourism labour statistics confirms 11,600 jobs (equating to 11.8 percent of Australia’s workforce) were wiped over the 12-month period. Filled jobs over the period fell 3.0 percent compared to a 1.7 percent growth across the wider economy. This shows the impact of the bushfires and the initial devastation of COVID-19 on the tourism sector.
Dean Long, CEO Accommodation Association warned “the worst is yet to come”. Since March, industry jobs have dropped dramatically from 113,000 to 58,000.
“If we hadn’t had JobKeeper, there would have been significantly more Australians out of work,” says Dean.
It’s been devastating and difficult and there’s no end in sight. We already know these numbers will get worse.”
Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) welcomed the Morrison Government’s announced changes to JobKeeper, which would make more employees eligible for the scheme. Previously, eligibility was based on the criteria that a worker had to have been a permanent employee as at March 1, or have clocked up more than 12 months with the business as a casual employee. Starting August 3, that original date of March 1 has extended to July 1.
TAA CEO Michael Johnson said the association had worked closely with the Federal Government to secure the extension of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme. He added that it “quickly proved to be necessary in the context of the unfolding situation in Victoria and the significant impact this will have on Australia’s accommodation providers.”
Jobkeeper’s original September 27 expiry date has been extended to March 28, 2021. A key change is that businesses would now only have to demonstrate that their actual turnovers have significantly declined in the previous quarter alone.
For instance, to be eligible for JobKeeper for the December quarter, a business would need to demonstrate a 30 percent decline in turnover for the September quarter alone. Previously, this would have required businesses to demonstrate a 30 percent decline in turnover for the July and September quarters.
Similarly, to be eligible for JobKeeper for the March quarter, a business would need to demonstrate a 30 percent decline in turnover for the December quarter alone. Previously, this would have required businesses to demonstrate a 30 percent decline in turnover for the July, September and December quarters.
While these changes represent a boost for many businesses, JobKeeper payments will be slashed from September as previously announced.
From 28 September the payment will reduce from $1,500 to $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks of pay periods before March 1, 2020, were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average. All other eligible employees and business participants will have their JobKeeper payment reduced from $1,500 per fortnight to $750 per fortnight.
From 4 January 2021, the payment amount will reduce from $1,200 to $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks of pay periods before 1 March 2020, were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average. All other eligible employees and business participants will have their JobKeeper payment reduced from $750 per fortnight to $650 per fortnight.
The TAA said welcomed these amendments, which would ensure that those who needed to access the scheme could do so in the months ahead, which was particularly important given the uncertainty in Victoria.
“It is very encouraging that the Federal Government is responding to this crisis with agility and speed – ensuring policy parameters are changed quickly to accommodate this evolving situation which will save businesses and the many thousands of workers who rely on their survival,” says Michael.
Lucinda is an Industry Reporter here at accomnews.com.au. Find more of her writing in our print publications: Accom News, Resort News and School News.
