Young Australians are increasingly choosing employment over university study, with ABS data showing full-time student numbers dropped by 109,000 in the year to May.

Andrew Norton, a higher education policy expert at the Australian National University, said school-leavers were increasingly considering the financial implications of their post-school decisions.

“That’s not to say they shouldn’t do things out of interest, as well, but you do need to really think carefully about how you’re going to finance yourself for the next 40, 50 years,” he said.

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