As the school funds have grown, the unemployment rate of young people in our community has too.
In January this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that the youth unemployment rate was more than 2.5 times the rate of adults aged 25 and older. Specifically focusing on young people who are actively seeking work, the statistics highlight the fluctuating yet staggering rates of unemployment in youth.
The state that suffers the highest unemployment rate in people aged between 15 and 24 is Queensland. Still, the unemployment rate in youth is at crisis levels in Victoria. State-wide, regional areas are still hit with the brunt of the problem, whilst young people in inner city Melbourne have an unemployment rate of 12.7%.
Data from the United Nations also indicates a steady increase of unemployment in youth in Australia over the past few years.
[infogram id=”297d212e-f80d-4fc0-9df3-d4bc5345ec79″]The graph below shows a trend of youth unemployment in Australia, and notably, that more young males are unemployed than young females.
[infogram id=”9d229fa4-a2c0-441e-9871-d6e98c4c7195″]Whilst the Global Financial Crisis did act as a catalyst for the sudden spike in 2009, it does not provide an explanation for the continual rise of unemployment in young people.
So why are young people struggling to get hired?
Jack O’Donahoo, an “underemployed” 22-year-old student currently undertaking a Master’s degree, said youths nowadays are overqualified but have less experience.
“Schools and universities teach you theory and give you a qualification, but they don’t give you the hands on skills employers are looking for,” he said.
Being a full-time university student in Melbourne, O’Donahoo also explained that when he does work in between studying, it’s hard to accumulate the work hours to earn a sufficient amount of money. As a graduate, he felt as though he needed another qualification in order to find a fitting full-time job.
The government intends to fill this gap, and has put $751.7 million into a Youth PaTH program, which intends to help people under 25 transition into work. The program will workshop with young people to prepare them with skills, give them a placement at an internship, and a youth bonus wage subsidy of up to $10,000.
A recently released PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) report estimated that 6,600 students who move from study payments to unemployment benefits will be supported by welfare for up to 37 years.
Just last week, the Turnball government also announced plans to change the welfare system in Australia through targeting specific groups. After the analysis of a possible $4.8 trillion dollar cost, the solution proposed was to create a $96 million fund – Try, Test, and Learn – to stop the never ending cycle of youth depending on welfare to get by in life.
The approach will move youth – and other unemployed members of the population – out of the books and into a better quality life. For the unemployed to maintain a welfare free lifestyle, part of the funding will support young people and provide them with priority access to housing, education, employment services, legal services and health services.
However, the opposition is doubtful about the scheme. Shadow Families minister, Jenny Macklin, said the funding isn’t an investment if the cutting of the benefits leaves young people with “nothing to live on”.
The scheme is going to be put in place to ensure Australia’s safety net remains sustainable for the future to come.
