Stats collated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the proportion of students aged between 15-64 who were employed fell from 54 to 50 per cent.
The survey also showed that 1.4 million people were studying at higher education institutions and just under half a million (475,000) were studying at technical and further education (TAFE) institutions.
ABS director of education and training statistics, Steven Nicholas, said this reflected a general drop in engagement in work and/or study between May 2019 and May 2020, with full-time engagement dropping from 66 per cent of people aged 15-64 in May 2019 to 63 per cent in May 2020.
“The decrease was mainly due to a fall in people working full-time, from 51 per cent to 49 per cent,” Mr Nicholas said.
“Due to fewer international students, there was also an overall decrease in people studying for a Certificate III or above.”
Young people were more likely to be not working or studying at all, rising from 11 per cent of people aged 20-24 years in May 2019 to 16 per cent this year.
“This was particularly noticeable for 20 to 24-year-olds, 41 per cent compared with 44 per cent in 2019, a drop of 66,100 students.”
“There was also a fall in apprentices, from 5 per cent of 15 to 24-year-olds in May 2019 to 4 per cent in May 2020,” Mr Nicholas concluded.
About the author
