Regions in NSW, Victoria and Queensland have the highest rates of youth unemployment in the country, peaking at more than five times Australia's overall unemployment rate, a new report has found.
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Coffs Harbour has the highest youth unemployment rate in NSW with a rate of 23.3 per cent. It is second only to outback Queensland with a rate of 25.7 per cent, which is more than five times the overall unemployment rate of 5 per cent.
Across Australia, a quarter of a million young people are unemployed, according to the latest snapshot from the anti-poverty group the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Bendigo in Victoria has a youth unemployment rate of 18.3 per cent and the rate in Shepparton is 17.5 per cent. The New England region of NSW is also among the top 20 youth unemployment hot spots with a rate of 14.3 per cent.
The Brotherhood’s Youth Unemployment Monitor says that while the modern economy represents new opportunities for jobseekers, it also poses risks for young people who often have little or no work experience.
"Young people without training opportunities or higher educational qualifications face a double jeopardy," it says.
Madelin Ly, 21, from Cairnlea in Victoria, lives in Melbourne's west, which has a youth unemployment rate of 15.5 per cent.
She graduated with a degree in animal and veterinary biosciences from La Trobe University in 2017 but has been unable to get a permanent full-time or part-time job since then because of her lack of work experience.
She is taking part in the work for the dole program doing administrative duties for a not-for-profit organisation while she continues her search for a permanent job. She is also volunteering at an animal hospital.
"A lot of employers want you to have experience before you can gain it through proper employment. That's been one of the challenges," Ms Ly said.
"I've had two jobs - as a waitress and [last year] I was employed at the lost dogs home as an animal attendant.
"I'm prepared to work anywhere, however ideally I would like a job within the animal industry.
"I think one of the challenges is that the industry is quite competitive."
Conny Lenneberg, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence said despite 28 years of continuous economic growth, many young people were locked out of the labour market.
"We remain deeply concerned at how young people without qualifications and skills or parental support are tracking," she said.
"To secure the future labour force and create opportunities for decent work, we need structural solutions that are finely tuned to local job markets and infrastructure."
Kerry Grace, director of the not-for-profit organisation, Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast, said there had been economic growth in the Coffs Harbour area, but there are pockets of high disadvantage and nearly 60 per cent of businesses in the region are "micro businesses" that don't employ anyone.
She said some families were "stuck in a welfare cycle" and in their fourth generation of unemployment.
Social services address homelessness, gambling or drug issues, but do not "naturally marry up with employment services".
"You might fix one issue, but there is nowhere for them to go next into employment, so it is too easy for them to spiral back into where they were," Ms Grace said.
"A lot of employers tell us that people simply aren't job ready. It might be absenteeism, lack of presentation or communication. A lot is being done around that now but we have a gap where we need to make up some lost time."
There are job opportunities in allied health, aged care and disability services and vehicle body manufacturing, but these jobs were often not seen as options.
Some aged care employers offered internships in a range of areas including hospitality and horticulture.
