One in three young people are unemployed or under-employed at the end of what an advocate calls “a year beyond imagining” for those trying to join the workforce.
Key points:
- Between February and May, the number of young people with full-time jobs fell by 10.1 per cent
- The rate of under-employment has overtaken the jobless rate with most new jobs created being part-time or casual
- Economics professor Jeff Borland said young people could be affected by employment “scarring” for a decade
New research details the devastating impact of the COVID-19 economic recession on people aged 15 to 24.
Youth unemployment hit a 23-year high of 16.4 per cent in June.
Even at 15.6 per cent in October, that’s still higher than the peak of our last downturn, the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
Compounding the problem, the rate of under-employment (people needing more hours) has overtaken the jobless rate, and most new jobs being created are in part-time, casual or insecure work such as gig work.
“This year, youth unemployment has really spiralled out of control,” said Conny Lenneberg, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
The anti-poverty organisation’s annual Youth Employment Monitor spells out how young people faced the double whammy of less-secure work while working in industries most affected by lockdown and social distancing restrictions like hospitality, retail, gyms, entertainment and tourism.
Between February and May, the start of the coronavirus crisis, the number of young people with full-time jobs fell by 10.1 per cent.
That’s three times the rate (a fall of 3.3 per cent) for people aged over 25.
Chloe works in retail and administration in Rosebud, a tourism-powered town on the outer edge of Melbourne.
She avoided the health impact of COVID-19 but the economic hit came immediately.
“It was extremely hard,” the 19-year-old recalled. “I got stood down from all the work I was doing so … no-one was hiring … and trying to find support financial wise was really hard.”
After finishing school two years ago, Chloe had built up regular rosters of work. But it fell apart as Melbourne endured a long lockdown — shutting all non-essential retail — to stop the spread of the virus.
“How shut? Extremely shut,” she said.
“To the point that you didn’t realise how much you missed family until you had to see them cry on the (video-call) because you couldn’t see them in person.”
A real recovery?
Economics professor from the University of Melbourne Jeff Borland said while Australia’s labour market had recovered stronger than expected, diving into age…
Go to the news source: One in three young Australians is unemployed or needs more hours, and the trend …
