Youth unemployment in the United Kingdom is the level of unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 among young people, typically defined as those aged 18–25. A related concept is graduate unemployment which is the level of unemployment among university graduates. Statistics for June 2010 show that there are 926,000 young people under the age of 25 who are unemployed which equates to an unemployment rate of 19.6% among young people. This is the highest youth unemployment rate in 17 years.

Statistics

Statistics from the Institute for Public Policy Research

Institute for Public Policy Research

The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...

 show that youth unemployment is highest in black people

Black British

Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...

. 18.5% of boys aged 18 and 15.3% of girls are ‘Neets’, or ‘not in education, employment or training’.

Causes

Graduate recruiters have recruited less because of the financial crisis of 2007–2010. The cuts to the public sector have also affected young people. Immigration from the European Union has been blamed for reducing the number of seasonal summer jobs available for university students.

Effects

Youth unemployment increases the chance of a worker experiencing unemployment in adulthood. In economic terms youth unemployment equates to £10m a day in lost productivity. and the total direct cost of youth unemployment is £4.7bn a year. Many young people are underemployed.

Response

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government have abolished the Labour Party's Future Jobs Fund and replaced it with an apprenticeship scheme. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation have proposed an overhaul of school's career guidance and a drive to increase apprenticeships.

External links

• Prince's Trust fear jobless youth face mental scars BBC