Official figures published on Wednesday show Britain’s unemployment rate falling further to 6.8%. Self-employment has risen rapidly, helping to drive the improvement in the overall figure, but the jobless rate for the young is still predicted to be several times higher than average.
“Around 2008, 2009, with the financial crash and the way the economy was, I wondered what my options were … A lot of people were quite sceptical and scared. It was so competitive,” recalls Samba. Amie Samba picked a bad time to graduate. It was 2009 and Britain was mired in recession, with youth unemployment on its way to a record of more than a million.
Like many of her peers, the sports science and psychology graduate found she could get short-term contracts and volunteer work, but a full-time job seemed out of reach.
Five years on, the 27-year-old Londoner is glad the downturn pushed her to set up her own business and become part of a generation of young entrepreneurs. Labour market experts say the trend shows how fast-changing the world of work is, but unions have cautioned that it is creating an insecure and less well-rewarded workforce. Read More
If you like to start you own busines, Join our Workshop.
