Dr. Karina Doorley:

The group we see as being most affected when these supports are withdrawn are the under 30s cohort of young people and they are predominantly renters also. They were disproportionately affected by pandemic-related job loss and in the absence of these supports, they would have seen a much larger loss in disposable income than other groups. When these supports are withdrawn young people stand to lose a substantial amount of income and a more targeted approach might then be needed to support them while the labour market recovers. I will cite two examples of areas arose when we examined this. We know those who are aged 18 to 25 and who live with their parents receive a rate of jobseeker’s assistance that is much lower than the rate for those aged 25 and above. That could be one area to examine because that group of 18 to 25 year olds may suffer from scarring from the pandemic-related unemployment and may find it more difficult than other groups to re-enter the labour market. That is one rate that could be looked at. Another factor to consider is that many young people who are currently receiving the pandemic unemployment payment are students and students are not eligible for jobseeker’s assistance or jobseeker’s benefit in the first place. The CSO published statistics last year showing that about a quarter of pandemic unemployment payment recipients aged under 25 were registered as a full-time student. When this payment is withdrawn eventually and if students find it difficult to re-enter the labour market, a support targeted at them could be considered as well.