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Approximately 75,000 young workers under age 25 are unemployed, unengaged and may lack marketable skills in New Zealand, according to a new analysis from the Salvation Army Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit.
Prior to the Global Financial Crisis, the nation’s labor force participation rate for 15- to 19-year-olds was just under 56 percent; by mid-2013, the rate fell to less than 42 percent. By mid-2016, it had only recovered to 46 percent.
The organization estimates New Zealand’s youth unemployment rate could currently be more than 10 percent more than other published assessments.
A decline in apprenticeship training, among other factors, are a concern, according to the report; yet with more than 900 people a week reaching retirement age, New Zealand will need a number of qualified young workers in the future or it could face a labor shortage.
Find out more at from the Salvation Army’s report.