Privatised job agencies get rich off unemployed suffering

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In the late 1990s, Australia privatised the system that helps the unemployed find work.

The idea was that by paying employment service providers for each person they placed into a job, the process would become more efficient.

Instead, a parasitic industry developed with around 40 privately run employment agencies earning millions in fees from the unemployed.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.