Youth Rates And Their Effect On Maori

Yesterday we saw that youth unemployment had spiked during this recession, but that its movement may have been affected by the abolition of youth rates. This analysis was backed up by Eric Crampton, who is seeking possible alternative explanations.

Now let's look at how it affects Maori youth. The graph below shows the rates of Maori Youth (15-19) unemployment, and compares it with total unemployment. The bright yellow line shows the difference between the two - at a 10 year high.

Now, it is pretty clear that youth unemployment spikes much higher than total unemployment in a recession, and the figures I presented yesterday suggests that the relative movement is also higher. But what if we compare Maori youth unemployment to total youth unemployment? Well, the rate of difference has also expanded - which is what you would expect if there was some barrier to those with few skills finding employment. See below:

Now, unfortunately both sets of figures are annualised and only go back 10 years (although the fourth quarter figure for Maori was an horrendous 38.7 percent). I hope to have more comprehensive figures on Monday. It will be illuminating to compare the figures to previous recessions. It seems to me that these figures suggest that minimum wages are harming those they are most intended to help - the most marginalised workers.