The youth of today are facing increasingly uncertain futures, with secure employment, stable income, and reliable housing becoming more elusive than ever. A new study from Monash University’s Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice (CYPEP) throws light on how young Australians are faring in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results are somewhat unsettling.
Drawing from extensive data collected in the 2022 Australian Youth Barometer, the research delves deep into the dynamics of insecure work and its influence on other life pathways for young people. The pandemic has significantly intensified uncertainties, creating a milieu of disruption in the lives of Australia’s youth.
Anxiety and pessimism aren’t just abstract feelings anymore; they are backed by tangible numbers. Over half (53%) of the young Australians surveyed believe they’ll be financially worse off than their parents. For a country that has long basked in the ethos of upward mobility, these statistics ring alarm bells. To make matters worse, 56% of the respondents reported earning from gig work in the past year, a figure that balloons to 41% when considering Australians with a disability.
What are these gig jobs adding to the youth’s lives besides money? Worry, for one. An astounding 85% of young Australians experience feelings of worry, anxiety, and pessimism. Financial strain is another, with nearly every respondent facing financial difficulties in the last year, and close to a quarter grappling with food insecurity.
Professor Lucas Walsh, CYPEP’s Director, underscores the increasing intertwining of insecure work with other aspects of young lives, from education and finance to their future perspectives. “The gig economy is just the tip of the iceberg,” Walsh comments. “A broader loss of control is happening, affecting every aspect of young lives, especially in a labour market that increasingly discriminates against them.”
So, what does the future hold? According to the report, young Australians yearn for stable employment or at least some semblance of control over their lives—a luxury that the gig economy’s current state is unable to provide.
One 21-year-old male from regional Victoria encapsulates the sentiment well: “I’m looking for a different job, I think it’s just going to be a one-time thing for a few years. I don’t feel too motivated at all, I’m kind of just floating or directionless.” His words resonate deeply with the larger picture the study paints. Youth are directionless, not because of a lack of will, but because of a lack of way.
The CYPEP report stresses the need for an integrated approach to tackling the multitude of challenges that young people face. Government policies focused merely on gig work are far from sufficient. Whether it’s housing, income, or labour market policies, there’s an evident need for an interconnected strategy, one that doesn’t treat each issue as an isolated phenomenon but as part of a wider, complex system affecting our youth.
In sum, it’s high time we listened to the aspirations and concerns of young Australians. Ignoring their struggle to find a foothold in an increasingly slippery economic landscape could have long-lasting implications, not just for them but for the future of Australia as a whole.
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