Evaluation of the Australian Wage Subsidy Special Youth ...

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A regional analysis of NSW registrations of unemployment and vacancies with the CES
was conducted in 1986 by McGillicuddy et al. (1986). Over the year from June 1985 to
June 1986, CES registrations had risen by 1.1 per cent. It was noted that regional analyses
of the distribution of registered unemployed and vacancies emphasized geographical
limitations to the functioning of the labour markets within NSW. This analysis could be
extended to Australia as related to rural/urban features. The share of notified vacancies
per unemployed was higher in Sydney (0.26 vacancies per person) than other NSW areas
(0.13 vacancies per person) and the unfilled vacancies followed a similar pattern (Sydney
0.06 unfilled vacancies per person; rest of NSW 0.03) (McGillicuddy et al. (1986): 6).
Most unemployment registrations were for older age groups in the periods studied, with
youths taking a lower share, see Table 2.8. However it was clear that those 15-19 years
had lower registrations in Sydney than the rest of NSW, but those 20-24 years always had
lower shares outside Sydney than within Sydney.
Table 2.8 Age distribution for CES registrants in NSW 1985-1986
Sydney
Rest of NSW
June 1985 June 1986 June 1985 June 1986
15-19 19.5 19.1 22.5 21.8
20-24 25.1 24.3 23.7 22.6
25-44 41.1 42.6 39.8 41.4
45+ 14.3 13.8 13.9 14.2
Source: McGillicuddy et al. (1986) p6 Table 2. Columns add to 100 per cent.
2.2.5.2 Unemployment in the Australian economy over the 1980’s
Labour supply and demand factors, overall unemployment and the business cycle, and
relative youth wages are factors that can be viewed as having a significant impact on
youth unemployment. They also play a role in the operation of wage subsidies, as
discussed in chapter 1. These issues are now considered for the Australian economic
background to the operation of the SYETP.
The Australian economy encountered a peak in the unemployment rate during the period
of our data analysis, followed by improvements with falling unemployment from 1985 on