NCJ Number
162967
Date Published
1995
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This report on living standards of young people residing on the urban fringe, commissioned by the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme in Hobart, Tasmania, is based on data from the Australian Living Standards Study conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies between September 1991 and February 1993.
Abstract
Demographics and living standards are described for young people between 12 and 19 years of age and young parents between 19 to 24 years of age. Living standards are assessed in relation to participation in, access to, and satisfaction with secondary education, postsecondary education, employment, personal and parental income, and entertainment and leisure. The author shows that urban fringe young people are most likely to be in the early teens, have younger parents, be Australian born, have parents from an English-speaking background, live in a two-parent family, and have siblings under 20 years of age. Most young people are engaged in secondary education, with the next largest group being in paid employment. When compared to their inner-city counterparts, urban fringe young people are similar in terms of the proportion attending secondary school and in neither paid employment nor education. Urban fringe young people, however, are more likely to be early school leavers, more likely to be in paid employment, and less likely to be in postsecondary education. About 42 percent of urban fringe young people are in paid employment, 21 percent as a primary activity and 21 percent as a secondary activity. When compared to their inner-city counterparts, urban fringe young people are likely to have a similar net annual income if employed and equally likely to experience financial problems if in postsecondary education. In general, urban fringe young people are more likely than inner-city young people to perceive their leisure opportunities as limited by income. Young parents living on the urban fringe are predominantly Australian born, single parent families with one child. There is high unemployment (32 percent) among male young parents and a low level of paid employment participation among of female young parents due to child care responsibilities. The author concludes that living standards of urban fringe young people vary according to participation in education, training, employment, and leisure; that living standards are buoyed by the higher proportion earning an income through paid employment; that living standards are lowered as available income limits access to entertainment and leisure; and that urban fringe young people are locationally disadvantaged in comparison to inner-city young people. Implications of the findings for policies related to income support measures, school retention rates, postsecondary course availability and appropriateness, public transport improvements, and employment growth strategies are discussed. Supplemental information on income definitions and the study methodology is appended. References, tables, and figures