By Ewen McRae
Youth unemployment in Melbourne’s west is among the highest in the country, according to new data.
A report from the Brotherhood of St Lawrence, which analysed unemployment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed the Western Melbourne region had an unemployment rate of 15.5 per cent among 15 to 24 year-olds.
This was well above the national average of 11.2 per cent, and was the 15th worst performing region in Australia.
While the majority of regions on the list were from regional areas, Melbourne’s west had the third highest youth unemployment rate for a metropolitan region, just behind Hobart (16.9 per cent) and North-West Perth (16.7 per cent).
The Brotherhood’s executive director, Conny Lenneberg, said the data dispelled myths about young people in the community, and called for more action to address high unemployment.
“These figures belie stereotypes about young people,” Ms Lenneberg said. “We know from our research and the experience of our services that many young people are doing it tough. Yet young people are too often depicted in simplistic terms of consumers of overpriced smashed-avocado toast with a fascination for selfies, and that’s plain wrong.
“We remain especially concerned at how young people without qualifications and skills or family networks are tracking in this rapidly changing economic and social environment.
“To secure the future labour force and create opportunities for decent work, we need structural solutions that drill down to local job markets and infrastructure challenges.”
Brimbank council adopted a youth jobs strategy in October, 2018, to help alleviate unemployment in the municipality and create more job opportunities.
It was developed in partnership with young people across Brimbank, with then-mayor Margaret Giudice saying it was a crucial strategy for Brimbank’s future.
“Disturbing Australian Bureau of Statistics [2016 Census] figures indicate Brimbank is well above the state average, with more than 2900 young people living here experiencing unemployment,” Cr Giudice said.
