Youth job numbers recover after coronavirus lockdown hit

Youth unemployment and the industries that typically employ them have traced a sharp, if incomplete, recovery.

Workers aged under 20 bore the brunt of the coronavirus crisis.

Close to eight in 10 of the jobs lost by young Australians in the depths of the COVID-19 crisis had been regained by late June, as youth unemployment and the ­industries that typically employ young people traced a sharp ­recovery.

Workers aged under 20 bore the brunt of the coronavirus crisis, with close to one-quarter of payroll jobs held by young Australians disappearing over the month to mid-April.

By the end of June, this deficit had reduced to about 5 per cent, the latest payroll jobs and wages data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.

Wages paid to this group are now up by 12 per cent as eligible casual and part-time employees enjoyed a boost to income from the government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy program.

 

Big employers of under-20s — businesses in the accommodation and food services and retail trade sectors — also saw further increases in payroll jobs through the month of June, of 8.9 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

Nonetheless, the employment picture in the hospitality industry remains bleak: there are still 20 per cent fewer jobs than before the virus took hold.

Despite the continued recovery in jobs for young people, the ABS report shows the overall rebound from the lows of mid-April stalled over the week to June 27.

The number of jobs in the tax office’s single-touch payroll system is now 5.7 per cent lower than when Australia recorded its 100th virus case in mid-March, versus 4.9 per cent fewer roles over the period to June 13.

The ABS estimates there were some 600,000 fewer payroll jobs on June 27 than on March 14. Still, since the lows of mid-April, about 35 per cent of jobs have been regained, the ABS reported.

 

Employees aged between 20 and 29 are now the hardest-hit segment, with 8.6 per cent fewer roles by late June compared with pre-COVID.

The Australian Taxation Office payroll jobs cover the bulk of the workers, but do not include the self-employed and excludes some small businesses yet to transition to its single-touch payroll system.

This Thursday, the ABS will release official labour force statistics for June, which should show a gain in the number of employed as well as a lift in the jobless rate from May’s 7.1 per cent, as laid-off workers return to looking for work.

Josh Frydenberg has quoted Treasury figures suggesting the “true” unemployment rate is 13.3 per cent, after incorporating those who have left the labour force and those with zero hours.

Payroll jobs worked by people under 20 continue to show the fastest recovery since a mid-April low. For further information, please see https://t.co/8fjohXMIGB pic.twitter.com/4QQv3IZpEh

— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) July 14, 2020