The percentage of long-term unemployed (people unemployed for one year or more) was 19% in July 2011 compared to 18% in July 2010 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Of these, around 83,000 (or three quarters of long-term unemployed people) were looking for full-time work in July 2011.


For long-term unemployed people the most common difficulties in finding a job were 'own health or disability' (17%), 'lacked necessary skills or education' (13%), followed by 'too many applicants for available jobs' (11%). 


The majority of unemployed people, (81%) were unemployed for less than one year (short-term unemployed), with over a quarter of these (26%) having been unemployed for less than four weeks.


Of the short-term unemployed people, 13% reported that they had no difficulties in finding another job.


For unemployed people aged 15 to 24 years, the main difficulty in finding work was 'insufficient work experience' (17%), while for those aged 45 years and over it was 'considered too old by employers' (18%).


Of all unemployed people, 20% had never worked before and 21% had worked previously, but not in the last two years. Four out of five unemployed people (80%) had not received any offers of employment in the current period of unemployment.


Further information is available in Job Search Experience, Australia, July 2011 (cat. no. 6222.0). More details at www.abs.gov.au