Culled workers face dire job market

Australia's flagship airline has dumped 500 management staff due to the
deteriorating global environment, leaving them facing the worst job prospects since
the last recession.
Qantas says the jobs of a further 1,250 workers are also at risk.
The latest round of cuts comes on top of moves by the airline in July last year to
axe 1,500 jobs.
The cuts announced on Tuesday are on the back of a deterioration in the airline's
international business and freight services, which has caused it to slash its
full-year pre-tax profit outlook to between $100 million and $200 million.
This is down from its previous forecast of $500 million.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline had "no choice" but to lower its
profit forecast and make major changes to ensure it could weather the current
commercial environment.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the decision was "very unwelcome news".
"Obviously Qantas is being hit by the global financial crisis and global recession,"
Ms Gillard told reporters in Canberra.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the job cuts were "very troubling".
"Obviously it's disappointing for Qantas shareholders that it has cut its profit
forecast but the real issue is jobs. There are hundreds of Australians who are going
to be out of work as a result of this decision," he told reporters in Mackay.
The National Australia Bank's monthly business survey released on Tuesday showed
employment conditions are at their worst since September 1991, when the nation was
in the depths of recession.
In that recession the unemployment rate breached 10 per cent, and almost touched 11
per cent by the end of 1992.
Asked whether the jobless rate would again hit 10 per cent, Ms Gillard said: "I
don't think that it is wise for people to be trying to guess figures and I'm
certainly not going to do so."
She said updated forecasts would be included in the May 12 budget.
"We publish official forecasts and I think the thing that gives people the best
possible advice is those official forecasts," she said.
The unemployment rate soared to 5.7 per cent in March from 5.2 per cent the previous
month, the highest level in five years, rising at a more rapid pace than official
forecasts showed only a couple of months earlier.
In February, unemployment was forecast to rise to 5.5 per cent by June and 7.0 per
cent by mid-2010.
NAB has raised its unemployment forecast to 6.75 per cent by the end of 2009 and
7.75 per cent in 2010.
Overall, the NAB survey for March showed businesses continued to struggle.
"At best, the pace of decline in business conditions in March may be stabilising but
at levels that imply further negative growth and are still the worst seen since
1992," NAB chief economist Alan Oster said.
Business confidence, however, improved for the second month in a row with retailers
eyeing up a windfall from government cash handouts.
But a new survey by St George found that just $2.6 billion of the $7.7 billion being
forked out by the government in a tax bonus would be spent.
The survey of more than 1,000 respondents found less than half (42 per cent)
intended to spend all or part of their payment, while 35 per cent planned to pay
down their credit cards and personal debt, and nine per cent would put the money
towards mortgage payments.
"There is no doubt the current economic climate is causing many people to act
cautiously with all financial transactions and some are choosing to take a more
conservative approach to this one-off cash payment," St George spokesman Andrew
Moore said.