Policy context

It is important to distinguish between unemployed and jobless families. A family is considered unemployed if the parent(s) are actively seeking work and available to start, whereas a jobless family includes those where parents are not in the labour force at all, due to disability, caring responsibilities or discouraged seeking.¹ Parental employment is one of the strongest predictors of a child’s future opportunities and current quality of life.

Data indicates that children living in jobless households (where neither parent is employed) face a higher risk of poverty and significantly more financial stress compared to those in households where at least one parent is employed.¹ ² Research by the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children suggests that parental joblessness can lead to strained family relationships and adverse developmental outcomes for children, including lower cognitive, emotional and physical outcomes and lower academic achievement. Additionally, the negative impacts of joblessness may also be passed onto their children through underdeveloped skills to find and maintain jobs.³ ⁵ ⁶

This indicator is important for identifying systemic vulnerability. Specifically, single parent families are overrepresented in data concerning socio-economic vulnerability, showing a disproportionate exposure to financial and social instability. According to the ABS, single parent families are significantly more likely to be jobless or unemployed than couple families.¹ ⁵ This key driver may stem from the difficulty of balancing primary caregiving duties with the demands of the labour market. The Department of Social Services (DSS) identifies this cohort as highly vulnerable, as the absence of a second income earner makes the household entirely dependent on government transfers or a single unstable wage.⁴ Tracking this data clarifies what specific supports and services may be needed to effectively target these population group.