Financial News
- 17 October 2012, 9:57
Unemployment: UK In Youth Jobs Crisis
Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to get full time work as employers choose experienced candidates and fill positions quickly.
Researchers who sent out 2,000 applications from fictitious 16 to 24-year-olds found most employers did not reply to them at all.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation made the applications for more than 650 job vacancies as sales assistants, cleaners, office administrators and kitchen staff.
Each made-up candidate had at least five good GCSEs and relevant work experience.
The study found there were between 24 and 66 unemployed people for every retail vacancy, depending on the supply of jobs in different areas.
Almost eight out of ten of the positions paid under £7 an hour, and less than a quarter were offering full-time work during the day.
Chris Goulden, head of poverty at JRF, said their findings show that for young people today getting a job is a job in itself.
"It's important we have measures that provide more full-time, decent-paying jobs that can ensure work pays," he said.
"A lack of success in the jobs market saps confidence, demotivates and leaves a scar across a generation of young people, while part-time, low-pay work traps people in poverty."
At Darlington College in County Durham students are given help to try to find work, but 17-year-old Joshua Russell found it impossible to get even a part time job at the age of 16.
"I was too young and I didn't have the work experience needed. There's just too many people applying for one job and there just weren't enough available," he explained.
Laura Lennon, aged 19, took a year out before starting her journalism course, but found no-one wanted an A level student.
"I applied for Orange, on the phones, but apparently you need experience answering phones," she said.
Meanwhile a report by the TUC has found that young black men have experienced the sharpest rise in unemployment since the coalition came to power, with more than one in four of all black 16 to 24-year-olds currently out of work.
The reports followed similar studies in recent days showing a big rise in long-term unemployment among young people.
General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The UK is in the midst of a youth jobs crisis. Over a million youngsters are out of work and many more are struggling to find the finances needed to further their education.
"Last week the Prime Minister singled out employment as a great success of the government. That's cold comfort to the one in four young black men struggling for work, or the one in six jobless young black women."
what do you think?
blue side
Darlington is not a good example as youth unemployment has always been hight there, that said there is a problem in fact several including a lack of jobs, work attitude and in retail sector the approach I do not expect to be called mate or spoken down to when I am the customer. Unfortunately many East Europeans do have a less work shy attitude.
Windows Live User
If i was to believe this then why do so many overseas countries want to have the skills of the British in their country? Adverts constantly in the press for overseas jobs so our boys must not be so bad after all
Michael Hawkins
Overseas companies want skilled worker with good education They are selective in who they take one as are British companies Firms will take on those who experience tells them, are the best most flexible workers what ever nationality. After all if they dont make money they will close down
Jenny Caine
Some people arent helpinf themselves it is a hard time to get a job and I have friends who fall into that category but volunteer work goes a long way nowadays. Before I worked where I am now I handed out many cv's etc with no joy. As soon as I updated my cv to include my volunteer work as first aider and cadet trainer I was snapped up. Im lucky in the sense of not being on minimum wage but sometimes it is a case of needs must. I know some people wont go to work for minimum wage and regard themselves as better than everyone else. But to say that 1 in 4 black men cant find work seems to me a bit of a cop out of an example. How many british nationals are out of work and those who have come over are out of work? Clever play on words here!
Michael Mcardle
jenny you are talking absolute rubbish. its very clear from your comments you just havent got a clue about the present employment situation in the country. i know plenty of people who would jump at the chance of a job minimum wage or not. stop listening to this tory governments mantra that there are plebty of jobs out there.you dont realise how silly you sound
Michael Hawkins
Jenny I would agree with you, number of contractor that work for us complain that they are unable to get suitable labour, most are paying in excess of double the minimum wage When they take on young people from the job centre at a starting rate of in excess of £10.00 per hour most do 2 weeks and leave to keep the benefit office happy We see headlines of high youth unemployment. The question that needs to be answered is why employers do not wish to employ the UK youth If they are so hard working, highly motivated and highly intelligent a some would like MM would have us believe employers are obviously missing out big time
leslie lee
A weak will and the lack of grass roots experience is the reason why politicians chose to hang on to the "european dream"..... we ordinary folk know that the E.U. was created in order to give politicians the utopian style of living the rest of us can only dream of rather than further the cause of a non violent europe . i can say ,without a shadow of doubt,,, that sooner or later this recession will stir the peoples of europe into voting in yet another hitler /mussolini or franco .........SIMPLY BECAUSE THE CURRENT CROP OF THOSE THAT SQUIRMED THEIR WAY INTO POWER JUST AINT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE THAT VOTED THEM IN ............ WE dont have democracy in europe ................ just another non elected dictatorship
Michael Hawkins
Lee as a politician once kicked out of British politics Europe awaits - ask the Kinnocks The gravy train is far richer on the other side of the channel
Grant Berry
State meddling, you know socialism is to blame for this, the minimum wage is killing their chances of emplyment.
Michael Hawkins
Unfortunately benefits tend to set the minimum wage that some will work for why work when you can get the same sat at home
bjnk
What planet do you two live on, do you actually know what you get if your unemployed, 16-24 £56.25 over 25 £71 couple £111.45 You two probably give your kids more pocket money than that.
SagePhotoWorld
I was turned down in flagrant violation of the law on employing native British labour in preference to foreign labour by a BRITISH company. I lived in Britain at the time and it was a job for a company in Berkshire. I subsequently discovered they employed a Ukranian fellow to telecommute for the position. And yes... I am British, born and bred.
Windows Live User
This is a shame !!!!
Peter Edwardson
You need to ask yourself why.
Michael Hawkins
Possible they had not reached the quota for employing ukranians
leslie lee
LOL!........... what better way to ensure the future of britain become "dole scroungers "...eh???
leslie lee
actually grant in a strange sort of way you are mostly on the right track .. lets look at the minimum wage .......... and the mandatory benefits it provides and ...... hey presto ... you will see that AS FOREIGN CHANCERS do these jobs rather than brits ( although these foreigners are targetted in their own countries by BRITISH AGENCIES ) IT IS PLAIN TO SEE THAT THESE PEOPLE do not pay tax .......... as their benefits preclude that ....... so BRITISH TAXPAYERS MONEY is flowing on a one way ticket to eastern european states rather than being reditributed here in britain !! AND OF COURSE IT ALSO PREVENTS BRITISH WORKERS GETTING A JOB !!
Louisa Gieldon
"Foreign chancers" That would describe all the british folk who have gone abroad to seek better times for the last four centures then, would it?
leslie lee
lisa ........... when 99.9% of britons move abroad they are usually self sufficient ..... financially ..... ( students working their way around the world excepted ) therefore your comments are as irrelevant to this discussion as a neutered stallion in a stud farm dear
Brian Quinn
Technology is not going to go away. Menial jobs that can be undertaken by a robot or computer with cost effective results will prevail. Further, The educational standard in the UK is dire as 'false' yearly examination results prove. Education is now a business and no-one is going to fail anything - as long as the Universities and Colleges get their fees. Think about it - how many people do you know who have actually failed a Degree Course and I do not include those who leave the course voluntarily? Finally, the current birth rate for many families in the UK cannot be sustained to more than two. The Government will need to seriously legislate against families who consider it their inherent right to have as many children as they want. The world is changing rapidly and we must change with it or suffer the consequences..
Jonathan Goodwin-Self
Employers are using Polish, Romanians etc because they pay them peanuts. Cameron allows millions from Eastern Europe to arrive but all other countries cut the amount to about 5,000 in total a year. In September we had 3.6 million coming over. Cameron is a Communist dictator
leslie lee
well he certainly is a two faced liar .......... thats for sure lol
peter
What?..... Jonathan ?? Are you sure.....3.6 million in one month? That would be over 43 million a year, 86 million in 2 years - more than the entire population.
TIM x
7:59am on 17/10/2012
I work in a factory for an agency. Yet the migrants and eastern Europeans walk into jobs and regular agency work week after week. Before I am accused of xenophobia and racism by the usual leftist apologists go into ANY UK factory and see for yourself. Most of the people I work with are very nice people but they keep coming! And they are preferred over British workers by the employers!! We need to close our borders because Britain is full. We also need to hold an immediate referendum on our eu membership as this is the cause of all this mess. Come on David Cameron sort it out. Stop making excuses.
Name witheld
8:29am on 17/10/2012
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
stewgwyn
9:55am on 17/10/2012
Exactly Tim. I may have said this before, but the advent of the Eastern European immigrant has brought everything down to minimum wage for shifts, weekends & bank holidays. And before anyone says ''they're doing the jobs that we won't do'', speak for yourself ! Tens of thousands of us have always done hard, heavy, dirty jobs with unsocial hours, but we used to be paid properly for it ! And I consider that I have the right to converse with colleagues who can speak English (or Welsh, in my locality). I am not the immigrant here !
Windows Live User
9:53am on 2/11/2012
It is rubbish for employers to tell the Brits that the Poles work harder!! They will start a riot saying that. Brits can work as hard if not harder than anyone. No, their is another reason why they are employed in prepference to home grown labour.
Diane Rogers
1:32pm on 4/11/2012
Well saidi'm going to say something else controversial but i'm used to causing trouble on here if pensioners don't need to work give up and let the youngsters in