PEOPLE knocking back work because their COVID unemployment benefits are too generous has not been an issue in Bathurst, despite the Prime Minister voicing his concerns as he weighs up the nation's JobSeeker payments.
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Earlier this week, Scott Morrison said he feared the inflated rate had become an impediment to people going to work.
On radio, Mr Morrison said the government was getting anecdotal feedback from small businesses and even large businesses that they are finding it hard to get people to come and take shifts because of higher JobSeeker benefits, announced back in March.
However, Bathurst Business Chamber president Catherine Fitzsimons said the feedback from business owners in Bathurst told a different story.
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Ms Fitzsimons said she hasn't heard any specific feedback about that being a problem in Bathurst, rather the general feeling in both the business community and community in general is the stimulus packages released by the government have brought many benefits.
Ms Fitzsimons said the small risk of people not wanting to work was outweighed by the benefits entitlements like JobSeeker have brought.
She said stimulus payments like JobSeeker mean people can continue to spend money, which is vital for the health of the economy.
Added to this is the fact in the current circumstances, people can't really travel far afield, so the money being spent is staying in Bathurst.
She said in Bathurst, both McDonald's and the recently expanded Harvey Norman have both been advertising for more people, and she has not heard of any difficulties in filling those positions.
"Fundamentally, people prefer to work," she said.
