WITH all the uncertainty around the global economy, it's easy to forget just how easy many Canberrans have it.
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With an average adult income of more than $83,000 a year, high levels of overall employment and educational attainment, the ACT is in the sweet spot of being one of the most prosperous corners of one of the most prosperous countries on the planet.
Which makes it easy to brush aside risks to that success as minor or somehow less significant than they are elsewhere when they are raised.
While the ACT faces its own unique economic challenges, in particular its heavy reliance on the federal public service, there are other concerns, such as our rate of youth unemployment that we need to be mindful of.
According to recently released figures, young Canberrans who drop out of education after the age of 16 are at significant risk of becoming cut off from meaningful employment. In a rapidly ageing city, warnings on the issue from recruiters that the qualifications many are seeking do not match up with employer needs should be of concern.
In less well-off areas of the country, particularly parts of western Sydney, youth unemployment rates are already reaching levels close to those in basket-case economies such as Spain and Greece.
The flipside of our economy's success is that employers have high expectations of young job seekers entering the workforce. Those who miss the bus, or don't have the skills and qualifications being sought in the first place, may find it increasingly difficult to break into an economy that has fewer unskilled positions than other parts of the country.
Jobs for those without tertiary qualifications are drying up, too, as evidenced by the closures in the automotive and textile industries, among others.
If those jobs are disappearing, mining is contracting and there are few obvious growth sectors to our economy, the decisions for young people entering training will become increasingly difficult and complex.
Newly installed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has singled out young Australians as a priority for his government, and a more positive message in the upcoming campaign.
There has been some positive development in the areas of school funding, but the Prime Minister could do a lot worse than to campaign on a message of hope and opportunity for one of his biggest supporter groups - young Australians.