Sustainable Strategies to Alleviate the Impact of the Seasonal Employment Scheme on Labour Market and Private Sector Businesses: Evidence from a Low-Middle Income Economy in the Pacific
The
Seasonal Employment Scheme (SES) has been running in the Asia-Pacific region by
New Zealand and Australia since 2007. Its merit has increased in recent months
and past year, particularly due to the impact Covid-19 has had on economies
worldwide, including the high unemployment rate which has occurred in some
economies in the region. The economic benefits from the scheme imply that most
economies will continue running the scheme and may be open to ideas or
suggestions, which could potentially increase their gains from the scheme. This
paper follows research into the influence of the SES on the available pool of
workers, specifically private businesses in a middle-income economy in the
Pacific. It provides possible strategies which could assist in improving the
operation and management of the scheme in a way that minimizes the losses felt
by the drain of labour and provides suggestions on how to spread the gains from the scheme economy-wide.
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