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The kids aren’t alright – youth unemployment is rising

Turned away by business after business across Melbourne, Chris Saunders is one of the growing number of young Australians who can’t find work.

Parts of Australia have experienced youth unemployment rises of up to 88 per cent in two years, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data analysed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

In the northern Queensland city of Cairns, one in five adolescent job-seekers can’t find employment.

Communities in west and northwest Tasmania and outback Northern Territory are also experiencing similar figures.

For 24-year-old job-seeker Saunders, the hardest part isn’t putting in the effort, it’s getting a foot in the door.

“I’ve handed out dozens of resumes but it’s usually the same response: `sorry, we’re not hiring'”

“I’ve handed out dozens of resumes but it’s usually the same response: `sorry, we’re not hiring’,” Mr Saunders said.

Youth unemployment is projected to affect nearly half of all young Australians in Cairns by 2016, the Brotherhood of St Laurence said.

One in three young job-seekers in outback Western Australia and Northern Territory will also be out of work, it said.

Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson said the data proves youth unemployment is not only at crisis point, but is continuing to grow at an alarming rate.

“Australia is facing a generational crisis,” Mr Nicholson said on Monday.

“For young people caught up in this jobless spiral, this can be a road to long-term poverty and reliance on welfare.”

The Brotherhood called on the federal government to implement a plan to aid the transition of young Australians from school to the workplace.

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