Parental joblessness, financial disadvantage and the wellbeing of parents and children

Abstract

Despite the strength of the Australian economy and the relatively low rate of unemployment, joblessness among families with children remains high in Australia relative to many other OECD countries. Australia also has one of the highest rates of part-time employment among OECD countries, and this is particularly prevalent among employed mothers. Gaining a better understanding of the effect on families with dependent children of joblessness or working only short part-time hours is important for child policy and service delivery. This report uses data from the first four waves of data from LSAC to analyse the links between joblessness/short part-time hours of employment and the wellbeing of parents and their children. This is done through examination of the characteristics of single and couple parent families according to whether they are not in employment, in employment with short part-time hours, or in full-time or long part-time hours. These categories of employment are used to consider differences in income, other indicators of financial wellbeing, as well as indicators of social capital. Clear links between employment and financial measures were observed, but the associations were less clear for social capital. Parents’ and children’s outcomes were also considered, to show how joblessness and lower levels of employment can flow through to poorer outcomes for families.