Western Sydney’s youth unemployment crisis

Western Sydney’s youth have been left behind when it comes to employment prospects post-Covid, with one expert referring to “postcode discrimination” as a major issue for the region’s youth.

The youth of western Sydney have been hit hardest by job losses as a result of the Covid pandemic and now find themselves struggling to re-enter the workforce, a new report has revealed.

One youth employment expert also pointed to “postcode discrimination” as a key issue.

A report by The Australian Research Institute showed western Sydney and regional NSW were hit the hardest with youth job losses as a result of the pandemic, with more than 30 per cent of those aged 24 and under in western Sydney losing their jobs.

The report found youth had been disproportionately impacted by unemployment following the Covid pandemic. Young people make up about 14 per cent of the workforce but made up 39 per cent of job losses during lockdown.

Youth unemployment is currently double that of the rest of the population.

A generic image of youth workers.

The study showed the Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool and Campbelltown regions were the hardest hit, being home to 39 per cent of NSW’s unemployed youth.

In comparison, the northern and eastern parts of Sydney include just 18 per cent of the state’s unemployed youth.

Humanity Matters acting CEO Selim Ucar.

Selim Ucar, acting CEO for Humanity Matters — which works with marginalised youth in western Sydney — said the youth unemployment crisis was caused by a range of factors, namely coming from low socio-economic areas which perpetuates the cycle of disadvantage.

“Young people from the western suburbs are more likely to come from under-resourced demographics and socio-economically disadvantaged households that are unable to provide the support they need, further adding to the challenges they face in getting employment and perpetuating cycles of disadvantage,” he said.

“Covid has increased the labour market inequalities, making it even harder for young people from disadvantaged demographic groups to find work.”

Mr Ucar said “postcode discrimination” was causing another barrier to entry into the workforce for western Sydney youth.

“Through our work, we have seen young people often face additional barriers to employment, including discrimination like postcode discrimination for those from more under-resourced suburbs, fewer employment opportunities, behavioural expectations, and resource constraints,” he said.

“Postcode discrimination is where judgments are made based on where people live. Western Sydney as a region is known for its diverse cultural communities, but its postcodes can evoke assumptions around or bias against people's religion, culture and socio-economic status.

“These stigmas by area of residence in job application processes often impacts disadvantaged people including unemployed and marginalised youth where employers perpetuate the issue of not employing based on where a young person lives.”

Mr Ucar said to properly tackle the youth unemployment in Sydney’s west there needed to be investment to creating long term job opportunities.

“We must address youth unemployment by dealing with the entrenched issues young people face from every angle. Investments in programs to rebuild confidence in mainstream services is a good starting point,” he said.

“Creating long term job opportunities to help young people find security is also critical, to ensure those who complete training programs or school are not left discouraged with unemployment.

“The government must recognise that youth unemployment is more complex than young people not having the right skills or education. We must get to the root of issues young people face, provide the right support and only from there, better outcomes for youth employment will follow.”