4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2003
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/06/2003
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Population distribution: Youth migration within Australia
Mobility of young people Young people are typically one of the most mobile population groups. Just over half (52%) of all young people (i.e. people aged 15-24 years) moved residence in the five years to August 2001. Young people aged 20-24 years were more likely to have moved than those aged 15-19 years (64% compared with 42%, respectively). The age profile of those who moved residence within Australia between censuses has remained relatively constant over the past 30 years and closely resembles that of those who move within other countries.3 Mobility rates increase from the mid-teens through the young adult years, peaking at 27 years of age, and falling sharply from that point, through to age 75 years. However, most young people do not move out of their local region. In the five years to August 2001, close to a third (31%) of those who had changed residence had moved within the same Statistical Local Area and close to two-thirds (68%) had moved within the same Statistical Division. Around 11% of moves by young people were to an interstate location. PROPORTION OF PERSONS WHO MOVED(a) - 2001 (a) Those whose usual residence on census night was different to that five years prior. Excludes overseas migration. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. The age profile of urban and rural areas In 2001, 14% of the total population of Australia were young people (i.e. persons aged 15-24 years). In the Major Urban areas young people made up a slightly greater proportion of the population (15%), with lower proportions in Other Urban areas (13%), Bounded Localities (11%) and the Rural Balance (12%). In areas with smaller populations, young people are less likely to remain in the area as they pass from childhood to adulthood. In 2001, there were 230,100 persons aged 15-24 years in the Rural Balance of Australia - 36% less than the number of 5-14 year olds in these areas 10 years earlier. In contrast, Major Urban areas had 23% more young people in 2001 than 5-14 year olds in 1991. The movement of young people out of rural areas and into urban locations is a long-standing demographic phenomenon in Australia.4 Most of this movement, over the last half of the 20th century, was to Capital Cities, with net inflows of young people fluctuating from 49,800 in the five years to census night in 1976, down to a low of 25,100 in 1986, and up to a high of 82,500 in 2001. USUAL RESIDENT AGE PROFILE BY SECTION OF STATE - 2001 Major Urban areas Other Urban areas Bounded Localities Rural Balance Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Broad migration flows There are large flows of young people between Capital Cities, Large Population Centres and Country Areas. In the five years to August 2001, the gross migration levels (numbers of arrivals plus departures) were broadly similar in each of these areas, despite the comparatively smaller numbers of young people in Country Areas. In contrast, net migration (arrivals minus departures) varies considerably between these areas. Over this period, almost three times as many young people left Country Areas than arrived in these areas (226 net departures per 1,000 young people). Nearly two-thirds of the net outflow of these young people was to Capital Cities. In comparison, Large Population Centres had a net inflow of young people (9,000 net gain). This overall gain of young people comprised a relatively large net inflow of young people from Country Areas (35,100 net gain) that was offset to some degree by a net loss to Capital Cities (26,000 net loss). Between 1996 and 2001, there was a net loss of young people from each of the Large Population Centres (except Gold Coast-Tweed) to Capital Cities, while all of the Large Population Centres experienced a net gain of young people from Country Areas. Often, this influx of young people is sourced from nearby smaller towns and localities. PEOPLE AGED 15-24 YEARS: MIGRATION FLOWS WITHIN AUSTRALIA(a) - 1996-2001
(b) Net migration expressed as a rate per 1,000 of the 2001 usual resident population. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing.
Characteristics of young people who move The ages between 15 and 24 years are a time of transition in the life cycle - from childhood to adulthood. During these years many young people move from school to further education (often combined with part-time work), and then full-time work. They are also likely to move out of the parental home to live alone or in group households, prior to many of them forming partnerships or families of their own. The order in which these milestones are reached varies considerably among young people, but when they do occur, they are often associated with a change of address. While this change of address may not always involve moving to another town or region, the characteristics of young people who move are broadly similar regardless of the distance moved. When using census data to examine the characteristics of young people who move, the data refer to the individual only at the end of the transition period. Therefore the characteristics may not have applied at the time migration occurred and may not have influenced the move. To minimise this effect, in this article the characteristics of young people are only examined for those who moved in the year prior to the census. Regardless of their age, young people who were not living with their parents were more likely to have moved in the past year than those living with their parents, consistent with the movement of young people being associated with the transitions occurring in their lives. In 2001, the mobility rates for young people who were living in the parental home (i.e. as either dependent or non-dependant children) was 11%, compared with 74% for those in group households, 53% for lone persons and 54% for partners in couples. Among those living as a partner in a couple at the time of the census, those in de facto couples were more likely to have moved in the last year (61%), than those who were in a registered marriage (42%). This is partly related to the growing trend for young people to cohabit before entering registered marriage (as those who were already cohabiting before marrying would be more likely to maintain the same address upon marrying). It may also reflect the less permanent nature of some de facto marriages compared with registered marriages generally.5 Young people who were in the labour force were more likely to have moved in the past year (30% of those who were employed and 39% of those who were unemployed) than those not in the labour force (23%). Mobility rates were also higher for 15-24 year olds in non-school education (e.g. TAFE and university) compared with those in secondary school (30% and 12% respectively). Because 20-24 year olds were more likely to have left the parental home than 15-19 year olds, they were more likely overall to have moved than their younger counterparts. In 2001, 38% of 20-24 year olds had moved in the past year compared with 20% of 15-19 year olds. This pattern held regardless of their labour force status and whether or not they were attending an educational institution. However, 20-24 year olds who were not living in the parental home were less likely to have changed address in the past year than the comparatively small group of 15-19 year olds with the same living arrangements. This is likely to reflect the more permanent living arrangements of the older group who had been living outside the parental home for longer. Endnotes 1 Kenyon, P., Sercombe, H., Black, A. and Lhuede, D., 2001, 'Creating Better Educational and Employment Opportunities for Rural Young People', National Youth Affairs Research Scheme, Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies. 2 McKenzie, F. 1996, ‘Policy Implications of Population Decline’ in Population Shift: Mobility and Change in Australia, Edited by Newton, P.W. and Bell, M., AGPS, Canberra, pp. 205-217. 3 Bell, M. and Hugo, G. 2000, Internal Migration in Australia, 1991 to 1996: Overview and the Overseas-Born, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Canberra. 4 Hugo, G. 2002, 'Australia's Changing Non-metropolitan Population', The New Rural Health, Oxford Uni Press. 5 Australian Parliament 1998, To have and to hold, a report of the inquiry into aspects of family services, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Can Print Communications, Pty Ltd, Parliamentary Paper 95, Canberra.
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