The face of Aussie unemployment

Honor Elliot has been looking for work for over one year after giving up her radio career in Melbourne. Source: Supplied

LAST week, news broke that the number of people on benefits reached a 15-year-high with 840,000 people receiving the Newstart or Youth Allowance, up 44,000 from the previous year.

It was swiftly followed by the announcement that Qantas will sack 5000 full-time workers and comes following thousands more job cuts as Ford, Toyota and Holden close their doors in Australia.

But while it's easy to think about facts and figures, the human face of unemployment is often forgotten. Here four Australians share their stories with news.com.au.

MORE: Find out about Generation Success: A new youth employment initiative

Honor Elliot

Honor, 31, had a 10-year radio career in Melbourne before moving to Cairns to be with her partner.

She's been looking for work for more than a year but has been unable to find anything stable. Honor told news.com.au she's refused the dole so far and is now looking outside Cairns meaning she'll have to do long-distance with her fiance.

Honor Elliot says being out of work is taking a toll on her emotionally. Source: Supplied

"The scary thing for me is I am struggling emotionally [not working]... We're just going to have to do long distance, but because I'm now not full-time employed people don't want to know me. It's just amazing how many times you can break down."

She's applied for hundreds of jobs and started online store urbanwolfpack.com in the meantime.

"I'm desperately trying to come up with ways to stand on my own two feet again and feel like a worthwhile person. The constant job knock backs has taken a real toll on my self-belief and I often just want to curl into a ball and stay in bed all day," she said.

Financial stress has also been hard on her relationship. She said she jokes with her partner about money but "if something doesn't change soon, we are going to drown".

"I'm 31 and can't even think about having kids. Which scares me. If we don't turn our financial situation around soon we won't be able to consider having children of our own."

John McCormack

Brisbane tradie John McCormack said his life came "crashing down" last June when he was headhunted from his job with an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I did my homework on the new company and everything checked out perfectly. Six weeks later I was informed that due to lost contracts and a lack of work the company was closing down," he said over the phone from the Northern Territory.

John McCormack and his fiancee Sarah have been living apart while he tries to find work. Source: Supplied

John — whose adorable proposal went viral last year — couldn't return to his old job which had already been filled and has refused to go on benefits. He's been doing odd jobs ever since, from driving forklifts to working in hotels and is currently based in a roadhouse 130km north of Alice Springs.

"I've just been trying to do it all myself. I know [the dole] is there and I've looked into it [but] I know there's that stigma attached. I'm just from that school of you've got to do it yourself. I've found enough work to keep me going until I find what I want to do. It's been a pretty long seven months," he said.

Watch John's video proposal below

John McCormack proposes to his fiance in a very Aussie way with help from his dog Spud. Credit: YouTube/MickDeLux

He's applied for hundreds of jobs and knocked on doors all over the country. John said he took the job in rural Australia to prove he can deal with the FIFO mining culture, where he wants to work.

"For all the ones I've applied for you always get that letter back saying 'thanks but no thanks' I always want to say 'just give me a chance.'"

He said his engagement has been a bright spot in a rough few months and the couple are set to marry in August. Otherwise, it's been a struggle to be optimistic.

"It comes and goes. When one job finishes you're sitting at home. You want to do something to the house but that costs money and you can't afford it but it's good to have the support of someone like Sarah who has been unbelievable. Eventually it will come good. Fingers crossed."

Patty Calvert

Patty Calvert, 48, worked in administration at a company that made parts for Ford, so when the car manufacturer announced they would cease Australian operations, she knew her job would go with it.

Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano announced in May last year they would close their Geelong factory by 2016. Source: News Limited

She said the next few months were extremely tough as they weren't sure when their jobs would go.

"We were never given real answers as to when it would be shut down, which made it really hard to plan and caused more stress," she said.

The company shrunk from a staff of 700 in its day to just 30 people. Plenty were too young to retire but left wondering if they were too old to find work somewhere else.

"It was really emotional for them watching the place get dismantled piece by piece."

Patty, who lives in Melbourne, has been surviving on a mixture of casual work and Newstart Allowance while waiting for her redundancy package to come through. She's been without a job before but said with three children at nearly 50 she's finding it difficult to cope.

Workers in the car park after Ford announced they would close their Geelong plant. Source: News Limited

"It's amazing how quickly your confidence disappears, as you apply for job after job and get no interviews, not even any responses, you start wondering if being close to 50 is going to see you unemployable yourself. Some days it's hard to get out of bed and to get motivated."

She's now interviewing for work and thinking about studying to increase her prospects.

Simon

Simon, who didn't want to use his last name, was made redundant from a senior project management role at IBM in June last year. His job was outsourced to India as part of a company-wide strategy that will impact 10,000 people — 40 per cent of their workforce — by 2015.

A round of offshoring at IBM made Simon (not pictured) redundant. Source: Supplied

He spent the next eight months on Newstart allowance attending more than 150 job interviews. The 26-year-old described it as a hugely stressful time as he broke up with his girlfriend and was forced to move back in with his parents as a last resort.

"My girlfriend got sick of me not being able to pay the bills and contribute — we couldn't keep the place, she decided on financial grounds to split up," he said.

"It was tough getting it in first place, the lines are massive ... It was a very stressful process. And having to refer to yourself as a pensioners when you go to doctors."

IBM has offshored parts of their business to India. Pictured, the company's trade booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Source: AP

He said he tried to be honest about his reasons for finding new work, but eventually felt he was being discriminated against so started lying.

"[Employers] aren't supposed to discriminate about someone being made redundant but they do. I got tired of explaining to employers. I had to lie in the end but you've got to do what you've got to do."

He's now due to start a new job with a salary 20 per cent lower than his original one but still considers himself lucky.

"I'm happy to have a job at this stage, beggars can't be choosers ... It definitely puts it in perspective how fortunate people are to have full time work. I don't think anyone should take a job for granted, it can happen to anyone."

Do you have a job that could help out these Aussies? Leave a comment below, continue the conversation on Twitter or email victoria.craw@news.com.au if you can do something to help. @newscomauHQ | @Victoria — Craw

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