JobKeeper, the Morrison government's $89 billion wage subsidy, appears to have overstayed its welcome during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new review finds the wage subsidy scheme tethered workers to lower-paying jobs, according to the non-partisan e61 Institute. 

While the subsidy achieved broad economic goals, it fell short in preserving job matches, with 45 per cent of the 3.5 million covered jobs severed by March 2023. 

Surprisingly, job retention rates for those on JobKeeper were comparable to non-recipients. 

The e61 researchers, Dan Andrews (not the former Victorian premier), Matt Nolan, and Lachlan Vass, emphasised the limited benefits of such schemes when alternative jobs exist, urging a focus on traditional macroeconomic support for future economic downturns.

In contrast, a Treasury-commissioned report has acknowledged JobKeeper's critical role in navigating the pandemic but flagged costly design flaws. 

Nigel Ray, a former Treasury official, has criticised the scheme's inflexibility, proposing a shift from prospective to retrospective revenue criteria after three months. 

The report also criticised JobKeeper's flat payment structure of $1,500 per employee per fortnight as inefficient, advocating for proportional earnings-based subsidies akin to other advanced economies. 

Ray's review recommended public transparency, urging future wage subsidy programs to include a public register to disclose companies receiving taxpayer support, citing JobKeeper as an outlier compared to the transparency practices of Britain, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.