Individuals and their families can cycle in and out of joblessness. Some may only be jobless for a short period and suffer little disadvantage in the long-term. However, other people remain jobless for longer periods and find it very difficult
to regain employment due to lost confidence,
skills and employer stereotypes1. Analysis of the
Household Income and Labour Dynamics in
Australia (HILDA) survey shows that of all people
in a jobless household in 2001, 66% were in
jobless households at the time of the survey one
year later, while 50% were in a jobless household
three years later, and 35% were in a jobless
household five years later. This demonstrates
that a fairly high proportion of people in jobless
households remain in such households for long
periods of time2. Earlier analysis of the HILDA
survey showed that people in one-parent families
and people with disability were particularly
vulnerable to being in a jobless household for a prolonged period.Intergenerational disadvantage