The Age has posted a sobering report today on the emerging youth jobs problem, which is fast approaching crisis levels:
Youth unemployment has leapt to a 15-year high in Victoria…
An analysis of youth unemployment data reveals that the situation has deteriorated in 12 of the state’s 17 regions in the past year.
Thousands of young Victorians from all backgrounds are finding themselves caught up in a spiral of unemployment, and the situation is particularly dire in socially disadvantaged suburbs of greater Melbourne and rural areas…
The region of Warrnambool and South-West, Geelong, Melbourne’s north-west and Hume are some of the most difficult areas to find work for 15 to 24-year-olds.
Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson warned that Victoria was “hurtling towards a social disaster”.
“In a short time youth unemployment will be a significant handbrake on the economy”.
“We are facing a situation where in a few years unemployment rates of more than 25 per cent won’t be uncommon”…
Many young Victorians are unsuccessfully applying for hundreds of jobs, and are being turned down because they are told they do not have enough experience…
The situation is particularly tough for people who have finished university…
The Age’s sober assessment is supported by the aggregate labour force data from the ABS, which reveals that total employment growth for those aged 15-24 years of age has been more or less negative since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), whilst the rest of the labour force has experienced positive growth (see next chart).
Meanwhile, youth unemployment is rising strongly, sitting at 13.8% nationally in July in trend terms versus only 4.6% for the rest of the labour force (see next chart).
Finally, the below table shows the changes in key labour force aggregates since September 2008:
As you can see, employment for 15-24 year olds has declined by 118,600 (-6.2%) since September 2008, whilst the rest of the labour market has experienced growth of 920,500 jobs (+10.4%).
As noted by former Treasury secretary, Ken Henry, earlier this year, Australia’s high youth unemployment deserves our attention:
It is concerning that more than one-third of the unemployed people in Australia are aged 15 to 24…
Australia simply cannot afford this level of youth unemployment…
Unemployment is a key determinant of a country’s standard of living…
[But] most importantly, unemployment is a powerful source of “capability deprivation”. In essence, what this means is that young people who are not in the education system and who are denied work are deprived of the freedom to lead a life they would choose. They are being denied the capability to participate fully in the activities of their community.
In many cases, young people’s self-respect and dignity is eroded. This is true for all people who are unemployed, of course. But for those who are young, unemployment can have a permanent impact by impeding the development of their talents and potential. These are essential ingredients for Australia’s youth to be able to make good choices throughout life.
The perilous situation facing Australia’s youth also brings into light the egregiousness of the Abbott Government’s plan to restrict welfare payments to young unemployed and its Work-for-the-Dole program, not to mention its loose approach to migrant work visas.
To bring these programs in during what is becoming a youth jobs crisis is a fundamental betrayal of the Government’s duty of care.
