Education does have employment powers just ask the ABS

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data on the qualifications of Newstart recipients (thanks to the ultra-learned Andrew Norton for the pointer). People with no (55.1 per cent) or low (certificate holder, 23 per cent) post school qualifications account for most of recipients. People with all levels of diplomas account for 7 per cent, the same for those with bachelor degrees while Newstart recipients with postgraduate qualifications make up just under 2 per cent. While it’s newly released, the data dates from 2011, making this a rough guide to what is going on, but a guide nonetheless.

The ABS also records the proportions of people on Newstart with a post school qualification by field. The worst areas for collecting Newstart were management and commerce (22.6 per cent), engineering and related technologies (18.8 per cent) and society and culture (17 per cent). The best were natural and physical sciences (3.4 per cent), IT (3.8 per cent) and, go figure, creative arts 4.1 per cent.