As with so many economic recessions, the financial impact of the coronavirus-based recession is likely to strike hardest on the young. Indeed, the impact is such that researchers from the University of Western Australia believe that specific support will be required to help young people navigate the coming years.
In a new paper, the researchers argue that supporting young people is more important than ever before, with the long-term impact of unemployment resulting from the shutdowns immense. The paper highlights that younger people are likely to face a significant impact to their employment prospects over many years unless action is taken.
The paper highlights how the youth labor market is typified by high levels of consumer-facing roles in sectors such as hospitality, fitness and retail. What’s more, such jobs are often part-time or casual, and youth unemployment was already extremely vulnerable due to this.
Fragile employment
“In December 2019 youth unemployment was already high at 11.5 percent, more than double the general population,” the researchers say. “During the COVID-19 crisis, these characteristics of the youth labour market have meant young people are more susceptible to losing their jobs and also having their hours reduced, as businesses face an uncertain future.”
As in most countries, Australia has seen the biggest short-term impact on employment in their history. The authors state that in one month alone, some 213,000 young people lost their jobs, which is around 35% of the total job losses in the country in April.
“The government responded with a temporary increase of $550 per fortnight to the JobSeeker Payment, relaxation of mutual obligation requirements, and the introduction of the JobKeeper Payment scheme, but because young people are more likely to be casuals working in insecure employment, many were not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment,” they explain. “And certain sectors such as higher education were simply removed from JobKeeper arrangements.”
It’s well known that in previous crises, such as in 2008 and the early 1990s, unemployment tended to crowd the labor market after the recession, which made it extremely challenging for young people. As such, the authors believe governments should offer support to help young people back into secure work.
“Personalised support of our young people that can address multiple barriers to employment such as qualifications, transport, disadvantage, job readiness and communication skills is important,” they say. “It’s also important for policy leaders to address the increasing casualisation of the workforce and ensure they support those who are most vulnerable.”
