Election 2022: unemployment, social security and poverty

Poverty and inequality are becoming more pronounced and entrenched in the wake of economic
effects triggered by COVID despite rosy headline economic figures. This has only been exacerbated by recent dramatic increases in the cost of living. In dozens of Coalition-held electorates, vote margins are smaller than the number of people whose income support payments were cut in April 2021, and polling shows the JobSeeker rate is a vote- changing issue.

The number and characteristics of people on the JobSeeker unemployment payment have
fundamentally shifted since February 2020 and the Coalition is using the low unemployment rate to
misdirect the attention of journalists covering economics, employment, welfare and inequality.
The Antipoverty Centre’s work is done by people who rely on social security payments and who
support others in poverty. We will be commenting on budget measures with the context of personal experience in addition to our analysis of policy announcements and macroeconomic factors.