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Is it ‘dog days’ for the young in the Australian labour market?

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  • Jeff Borland

    (Department of Economics, the University of Melbourne)

Abstract

The decade after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) saw a substantial deterioration in employment outcomes for the young (aged 15 to 24 years) in Australia. From 2008 to 2019 their employment/population rate decreased by 4.3 percentage points, whereas the rate for the population aged 25 years and above increased by 1 percentage point. We argue that the major cause of the deterioration was an increase in labour market competition faced by the young. Adjustment to being ‘crowded out’ from employment also occurred for the young via: being more likely to be employed part-time; being more likely to be long-term unemployed; starting their work careers in lower quality jobs; and needing increasingly to compete for jobs through activities such as unpaid internships.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeff Borland, 2021. "Is it ‘dog days’ for the young in the Australian labour market?," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2021n05, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2021n05
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    File URL: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3802798/wp2021n05.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Till von Wachter, 2020. "The Persistent Effects of Initial Labor Market Conditions for Young Adults and Their Sources," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 168-194, Fall.
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    9. Jeff Borland & Andrew Charlton, 2020. "The Australian Labour Market and the Early Impact of COVID‐19: An Assessment," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 53(3), pages 297-324, September.
    10. Jeff Borland, 2020. "Scarring effects: A review of Australian and international literature," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 23(2), pages 173-187.
    11. Dan Andrews & Nathan Deutscher & Jonathan Hambur & David Hansell, 2020. "The career effects of labour market conditions at entry," OECD Productivity Working Papers 20, OECD Publishing.
    12. Alan B. Krueger, 2017. "Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 1-87.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tomas Kennedy & Peter Siminski, 2022. "Are We Richer than Our Parents Were? Absolute Income Mobility in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 98(320), pages 22-41, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    youth; employment; Australian labour market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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