The idea of an important causal connection between unemployment and crime has become popular among certain Australian criminologists. Some researchers also contend that Australia is host to an emergent underclass which has become a major source of actual or potential crime. A close examination of the unemployment-crime relationship and the underclass argument, however, reveals that simple links between unemployment rates and crime rates cannot be established. Several methodological problems are associated with measuring unemployment and crime and with defining the underclass. Arguments concerning the unemployment-crime relationship are examined, and difficulties in establishing causes of individual behavior are noted. 76 references and 2 notes