Youth unemployment has skyrocketed by more than 10 per cent in two years in some regions, as a new national report reveals how postcodes shape the future of young Australians.
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The new report has found already high youth unemployment rates have jumped from 18.8 per cent to 28.9 per cent in two years to January 2018 in the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven, NSW. In the Coffs Harbour/Grafton area, the rate has increased from 9.4 per cent to 19.8 per cent.
In Bendigo, Victoria the rate increased from 11.4 per cent to 16.2 per cent over the same two-year period. In North-West Melbourne, it has increased from 14.4 per cent to 17.5 per cent.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence report shows a slight improvement in youth unemployment in Sydney's outer west and Blue Mountains from 8.2 per cent in 2016 to 8.1 per cent in January.
But this means little to young people like Chris Wilson, 19, who has been unemployed since leaving school in 2015, half way through year 10.
The lack of public transport from where he lives in Wallacia makes job seeking even harder in a competitive job market where employers mostly want employees with work experience.
"There are only about five buses a day from Wallacia to Penrith station," he said.
His confidence has increased and his anxiety about the future has decreased since getting help with job-seeking skills from the Schools Industry Partnership Transition to Work Program in Penrith which has helped 265 young people get a job in the last year.
"It's very helpful ... with communication skills, social skills," he said.
"I'd like to get a security job in a Westfield or a hospital. I'm also interested in tiling or in being a [pest] exterminator."
The report by the Brotherhood of St Laurence says the national youth unemployment rate of 12.2 per cent which is more than double the rate of overall unemployment masks striking differences in regions outside capital cities which have rates of around 20 per cent.
In outback Queensland, youth unemployment has soared to 67.1 per cent in January this year from 32.6 per cent in 2016.
Conny Lenneberg, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence said the new report revealed how location was shaping the future of young people.
“This stark data holds up a mirror to how geography is shaping the destiny of Australia’s young people," she said. "We are a prosperous country and we have to do much better to create opportunity for the next generation.
"Today’s changing modern economy is creating new risks for Australia’s young people - from highly disadvantaged youth to even university graduates.
"It’s the right time to create a unified national employment service tailored to assist all of Australia’s young unemployed overcome barriers, particularly those doing it toughest on the fringes of the labour market."
Ms Lenneberg said youth unemployment was not just a concern for the welfare sector and families.
"If we are to build the future workforce, businesss has a key role," she said.
"The Brotherhood of St Laurence works closely with local employers in disadvantaged communities and we see opportunities grow for young people when we closely align our efforts."
Taasha Goldbach, says it has been tough finding work near where she lives in Skye, in Melbourne's outer South East where youth unemployment has slightly fallen from 15.5 to 15.1 per cent. This area still remains one of Victoria's a major youth unemployment hot spots.
"When you apply online you have hundreds of people applying for the same job and the process is very difficult," Goldbach says.
"If you don't have much experience, they don't look at you most of the time."
The 21-year-old has been in and out of jobs since being made redundant from an administration job a year after completing year 12 in 2014.
She left a cleaning job a month after starting it because she felt she was being underpaid for the amount of work she was doing.
She later worked as a volunteer for a second-hand shop during the day and in paid work as a pizza delivery driver at night and in fashion retail.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence has helped her find a full-time administration job with Bluescope Steel for six months which she is looking forward to starting in May.
"That could potentially lead to more work," she said.
