Movement of non-metropolitan youth towards the cities

Rural communities are affected by the rate of urban migration of their young people once they leave school. This study draws on data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) to map the experiences of a group of Year 11 students not living in any of the major Australian metropolitan areas in 1997. It examines the pathways followed by the sample group from 1997 to 2004, including their geographic mobility and participation in education, training and employment. The report covers who is most likely to leave, who of the leavers is most likely to move back, and the differences in social and financial outcomes for stayers, leavers and returners. The findings show that 36 per cent of the sample had spent at least one year in a metropolitan area since 1997, 26 per cent were still living in a metropolitan area in 2004, the move was associated with further education for most leavers, and only about 30 per cent of the leavers had moved back to a non metropolitan area within the observed time period.