Merri Sims has been desperately looking for work since last July.

Key points: According to a new report, Hobart has the highest youth unemployment rate of any capital city

According to a new report, Hobart has the highest youth unemployment rate of any capital city The rates of youth unemployment in the south-east, west, and north-west are all above the national average of 11.2pc

The rates of youth unemployment in the south-east, west, and north-west are all above the national average of 11.2pc A demographer says job growth in Tasmania has mainly been in high-skill areas, leaving fewer entry-level jobs for school leavers

The 20-year-old said she's applied for more than 70 jobs in that time, but with no success.

"I've applied for everything. You name it, I've tried," she said.

"From retail to hospitality to tourism to working in fast-food places, I've tried everywhere."

Ms Sims finished year 12 and has completed vocational courses, but said it had been hard to find jobs that did not require years of experience.

"I have no income so I can't go out and do the things I want to do with my friends," she said.

"It makes you feel, I don't want to say worthless, but not needed in the community. It really plays with your mental health."

'There just aren't the jobs for people'

Ms Sims is one of many young people struggling to find work, with a report from the Brotherhood of St Laurence revealing Tasmania has some of the country's highest rates of youth unemployment.

In the report, south-east Tasmania ranked sixth for the worst national youth unemployment rate at 17.8 per cent, compared to the general unemployment rate of 5 per cent nationwide.

Hobart is the worst-ranking capital city on 16.9 per cent, and west and north-west Tasmania are on 15 per cent — still well above the national youth unemployment rate of 11.2 per cent.

Merri says being without work has affected how she feels about her place in the community. ( ABC News: Erin Cooper )

Lisa Denny, a demographer at the University of Tasmania's Institute for the Study of Social Change, said job growth was mostly in high-skill areas, which means there were fewer entry-level jobs.

"In Tasmania, we really struggle with employment demand and creating opportunities for young people to get into the workforce," she said.

"The way our industries are restructuring and the polarisation of the workforce is resulting in a reduction of the number and the share of entry-level jobs for young people and school leavers.

"There just aren't the jobs for people and the hours they want to work."

Ms Denny said youth unemployment had been steadily increasing in Tasmania since the global financial crisis in 2008, but so has youth underemployment, or the number of young people not able to work enough hours.

"That rate has also grown substantially, and that's an indication of a lack of demand in our labour market," she said.

Not about being lazy or picky

Chief Executive of Colony 47, Danny Sutton, said the system was failing Tasmania's youth.

"Young people need to be thought of and supported, and these transitions to employment are one of the big steps they take in life, and the current system isn't working well enough for them," he said.

He said he encountered young people who did not understand how the labour market worked, and therefore were not confident in their own strengths.

"We don't see that they're picky at all. We see young people often aspiring to do great work, but they just need to navigate a way to get on that first wrung so they can build that confidence, trust and what employment is all about," he said.

"It's a very tough environment when you're putting lots of applications in and not getting any feedback, so for us, we've got to step in a remind them they do have strengths."

Ms Sims said she'd take any job she could get.

"I'd definitely save up to buy a car and move out, that's a big thing for me," she said.

"It's just about having the luxuries of doing things with my friends and making memories while I'm still young."