Outback Queensland has the nation's highest youth unemployment rate, according to a new report from anti-poverty organisation the Brotherhood of St Laurence. 
Analysing Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the report says 28 per cent of outback Queenslanders aged 15-24 are out of a job, which is more than double the national youth unemployment figure.  
Despite a fall in national youth unemployment numbers, the report highlights a disturbing trend in regional Australian communities, where job scarcity for high school graduates is on the rise.  
Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson said the national decline in youth unemployment masked a real problem in Australian regional communities, and national economic changes were responsible.
"The reason for [high regional youth unemployment] is to do with the shift of the Australian economy to be increasingly based in knowledge and service based industries, and a decline in the number of low skilled entry-level jobs," Mr Nicholson said.
"The nature of these new jobs is that they require qualifications, skills and very often work experience in those fields. And young people fresh out of school simply don't have that." 
Mount Isa   Mayor Tony McGrady said while the report covers more than just his electorate, the decline in regional job opportunities for young people was a result of drought and a downturn in the resources sector. 
"When you talk about the outback you need to understand it covers a massive area and in that massive area we have two factors working against us, one is the drought, but also the downturn in the resources sector," Cr McGrady said.
"These [two factors] obviously have an impact on unemployment across the board, and youth unemployment in particular."
In order to reverse this trend, Mr Nicholson thought high schools needed to emphasise industry based education, and get young people involved in the workplace from a younger age.
"The young people that are coming out of school aren't equipped for the sectors of economy that show job growth," Mr Nicholson said.
"We leave it too late??? we should be introducing lower secondary school students to the world of work so they get a greater appreciation of where the jobs are going to be in the economy, how their natural aptitudes may be suited to those jobs, and what they need to do to prepare themselves."
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