Australia’s youth hit hardest by jobs collapse

Friday, 15 May 2020

Yesterday’s ABS labour force release for April was an unmitigated disaster for Australia’s youth – i.e. those aged 15 to 24 years old.

While the headline youth unemployment rate only rose by 2.2% to 13.8%:

The impact was hidden by a sharp 5.6% decline in the participation rate to 62.9%:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.