The jobs crisis facing the world’s young people shows no sign of abating. The evidence suggests that queues for jobs are growing longer and some are getting so frustrated at their employment prospects they have taken to the streets to protest. The statistics can make gloomy reading. If you group together the European Union and other developed economies, the youth unemployment rate has risen by a quarter since 2008. But headline figures do not tell the whole story of the situation
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein
The proportion of young women doing low-paid, low-skill jobs has trebled over the last 20 years, according to new TUC-commissioned research. The study, carried out for the TUC by The Work Foundation, shows that between 1993 and 2011 the share of female 16-24 year-olds in employment doing low-paid work, such as office and hotel cleaning, has increased from seven per cent to 21 per cent. Over the same period the proportion of young men working in low-paid jobs also rose
Youth unemployment in the UK is a “public health time bomb waiting to explode”, according to a review by the World Health Organisation. It warned of the health consequences of high numbers of Neets – people not in employment, education or training. More than one million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK are classed as Neet. The report also said the UK was behind other European countries on female life expectancy, deaths of children under five and child poverty. The
The Prince’s Trust is calling for urgent action from the government to help tackle the problem. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show 115,000 18 to 24-year-olds have been unemployed for longer than two years. The government says it has hugely increased the number of work experience placements and apprenticeships. The figures on long-term, youth unemployment have more than quadrupled in the last decade. The Prince’s Trust says if nothing is done, the UK could be on the
