Unemployment rates: Up to quarter of young people in parts of Western Sydney looking for work

UP to a quarter of young people in hard-hit pockets of Western Sydney are looking for work, while many of those employed are stuck in “vulnerable” positions at risk of dying out.

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UP to a quarter of young people in hard-hit pockets of Western Sydney are jobless and looking for work, while many of those employed are stuck in “vulnerable” positions at risk of dying out.

A landmark report describes “crisis levels” of joblessness with unemployment rates of between 16 and 26 per cent in some Western Sydney areas — up to double the national jobless rate.

Low education completion and lower-than-average car and home ownership levels are also key features of life in the areas that have been singled out in the analysis, which is based in part on census figures.

Some of the crisis “clusters” also have a higher proportion of young people with parents born overseas and close to double the average low income households.

Western Sydney University’s Parramatta City Campus. Western Sydney students are increasingly doing it tough.

The report — published by Youth Action, Western Sydney University and population experts Id — found industries dominated by young people in Western Sydney, including retail and manufacturing, were among those at high risk of automation.

For example, young people employed as machinery operators in Western Sydney more than doubled the Greater Sydney average.

There was also a stark gap between full-time education rates in Western Sydney and the rest of the city — with 8677 more young people aged 15- 24 needed in full-time education to solve the problem.

Western Sydney University assistant vice-chancellor Andy Marks said the region was at a “fork-in-the-road”, with critical investment needed to address the crisis.

“The federal government is proposing to cut $2.8 billion from our universities,” Dr marks said.

“This will see $51.3 million in funding taken directly away from Western Sydney University, with a further 7.5 per cent held back at the minister’s discretion. That is the last thing government should be doing if they are serious about addressing youth unemployment.”

Areas identified as youth unemployment “clusters” in the report include Lethbridge Park/Tregear, where 26.4 per cent of young people are unemployed and just 15.9 per cent of young people have a post-school qualification.

Cabramatta/Lansvale was also highlighted, with 21 per cent of young people unemployed. More than 94 per cent of young people in the area have parents born overseas.

Youth Action Western Sydney Co-ordinator Natasha Lay said there was a “mismatch” in new infrastructure delivered to Western Sydney and job creation­.

“Part of the problem is that young people are now competing with older more experienced people for the same jobs that the older people wouldn’t have used to applied for.”

Alicia Sohail, 20 is juggling a law and psychology degree with a part-time job. Picture: Brett Costello

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said “taxpayer funding for universities has grown at twice the rate of the economy since 2009” and that reforms would see university teaching revenue grow by a further 23 per cent over the forward estimates.

Mt Druitt’s Alicia Sohail is juggling a law and psychology degree with a part-time job, but she admits to being worried about the future.

“It’s actually become really hard to find work,” she said.

“I might need to do another degree once I graduate to get a job.”