While everyone was debating the veracity of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) seasonally adjusted labour force data, the important issue of Australia’s deepening youth unemployment crisis has been largely ignored.
While the trend unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 years old remained steady at 13.1% in September (from August’s downwardly revised 13.1%) – compared to 4.6% for the rest of the labour market (see next chart) – this seemingly benign headline result masked a sharp deterioration in both job creation and labour force participation amongst 15 to 24 year olds.
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