Mission Australia’s latest Youth Survey Report1 has highlighted the very real and potentially damaging impact that unemployment and economic disadvantage can have on young people, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.
“Most of what we do at the Foundation is focused on building homes for homeless youth because that is where our expertise lies. However, it is important for us to think about the underlying causes of youth homelessness, so we can help stop young people from becoming homeless in the first place,”
Kate Mills, CEO, The Property Industry Foundation.
The report considers the impact of parental unemployment and economic disadvantage on young people. It identifies young people’s involvement in education and employment, experiences of financial concerns and unfair treatment, family functioning and mental health. In doing so, the report highlights the experiences of economically disadvantaged young people across a range of their life domains, to enable greater and deeper discussion about their strengths, challenges and needs.2 Here is an example of one set of interesting statistics explored and discussed in this report:
- Without appropriate support, young people experiencing economic disadvantage are at higher risk of not completing Year 12 and not going on to further education.3
- Over 40% of young people will experience joblessness when aged between 19 – 32 years if they grew up in a jobless household.4
- Furthermore, even when young people find employment, experiences of economic disadvantage are associated with significantly lower wages in their future.5
- More than three times the proportion of Australian children who were in families frequently experiencing poverty were likely to regularly or frequently experience poverty in adulthood (44.5% compared with 13.5% of people who were in families that had never been in poverty).6
- Furthermore, children and young people experiencing economic disadvantage are more likely to face higher risks of behavioural, conduct and relational problems, including being bullied.7
It is comprehensive and we recommend reading it here.
