900,000 young people classed as 'Neets'

According to figures from the Department for Education, 927,000 people aged 16 to 24 - 15.3 per cent - were classed as Neets between the start of January and end of March.

This represented a rise of 32,000 – 3.5 per cent – compared with the last quarter of 2009.

However, it was a drop of 6,000 compared with the same period a year earlier, when 933,000 young people were unemployed and without a college course.

The number of Neets peaked at 1,070,000 in the third quarter of 2009.

A spokesman for the charity the Prince’s Trust said the number of young people out of work represented a "huge waste of talent and potential at a time when Britain needs both".

“Too many young people are still facing the devastating aftermath of the recession," he said.

“All too often unemployed young people face a downward spiral towards a loss of self-confidence, or even crime, homelessness and drug-use. If we fail to help them into work, all of us will feel the impact.” ...

Telegraph  20 May 2010    Blog    Neets

Job prospects bleak in Black Country

The West Midlands has been hit harder than anywhere by the recession that leeched jobs from the economy.

The number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants, a key measure of unemployment, doubled in some constituencies during the downturn.

Although the numbers have levelled off in recent months, and today’s unemployment figures are not expected to buck the trend, the most recent figures suggest that this will remain a blackspot.

The number of claimants fell in February to 176,100 or 7.3 per cent of the working population but were still well above the national average of 5.8 per cent.

In Birmingham 12.7 per cent of the adult population is unemployed.

The figure is higher among school-leavers. Youth unemployment in the city is running at 24.4 per cent, almost double the national rate of 12.9 per cent.

A Birmingham City Council report last week suggested that soaring unemployment could cause another outbreak of gang violence as the young turn to drugs and crime for money and status ...

In the Black Country 138,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 1998.

Dan Sloan, 19, from Cannock, said: “I have been looking for a job since I was 16. I would take anything really, building, gardening. It is tough. When I go for a job, somebody always seems to get there first. I feel like giving up now. I might as well resign myself to the dole and living on benefits. It may not be much of a life but at least it is better than no money at all.”

Times  21 April 2010    Economic Democracy

Labour has failed to reduce 'Neets', say MPs

You can't blame young people for turning to drugs.

Short-changed by schooling, moving on to 'precarious citizenship' and the dreary prospect of life on the Miniscule Wage as a drone for corporate profit.

Keir Hardie's old party was founded to offer a better quality of life to everyone, until it was hi-jacked by Blair, Brown, and Mandelson.

Around one-in-10 teenagers is still classed as “Neet” – not in education, employment or training – far short of official targets set by the government, it was disclosed ...

Barry Sheerman, the committee’s Labour chairman, said number of Neets had failed to fall “despite one policy strategy after another” ...

“It is time to take a more radical approach and to look at the example of the Netherlands, where rates of youth unemployment are consistently low and where young people up to the age of 27 have a more unified support structure,” he said ...

The report said that the proportion of 16- to 18-year-olds classed as Neet had “changed very little since 1995”.

About 261,000 young people – or 10.3 per cent of the age group – had no job or training place at the end of 2008, according to the latest figures ...

The figure rose to 1,082,000 among 16- to 24 year-olds ...

The report also suggested that more "compulsion" should be incorporated into the benefits system.

It added: “We were struck by the approach taken in the Netherlands, in which relatively generous levels of benefits and other support are offered to young people in exchange for greater compulsion to take up education, training or work ... " ...

Telegraph  08 Apr 2010

Alternatives to Welfare    'NEETS'    A Return to "Primordial Loyalties"

Young people must attend college to receive benefits

Welfare

Young people in the UK are among the least educated in the developed world, tumbling down the tables since the mid-1990s, according to analysis released today.

Among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), only Turkey and Mexico have a smaller proportion of 15- to 19-year-olds in education, the University and Colleges Union (UCU) said.

In 1995, the UK was ranked 19th among the 30 countries, with 72% of the group still at school, college or university. But by 2007, it had slumped to 26th place, overtaken by countries such as Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Greece. Figures for Japan and Canada were not available in the most recent set of data, which was for 2007.

A similar story is seen in the proportions of those aged 20-29 in education, where the UK fell from 15th in the table to 25th, with 17%.

The UCU said Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Slovenia, Israel and Russia were performing better than the UK, with higher, and still-increasing, proportions of young people in education ...

Guardian  01 December 2009

Britain overtaken by Slovakia in education league

The UK government should spend more money to tackle youth unemployment, says the CBI employers' group.

It wants £125m ($206m) of the UK government's £500m recruitment subsidy fund to be spent on funding 50,000 new apprenticeships.

Under the CBI's plans firms would receive a subsidy of £2,500 towards the cost of training each extra apprentice ...

The UK government should spend more money to tackle youth unemployment, says the CBI employers' group.

It wants £125m ($206m) of the UK government's £500m recruitment subsidy fund to be spent on funding 50,000 new apprenticeships.

Under the CBI's plans firms would receive a subsidy of £2,500 towards the cost of training each extra apprentice.

BBC NEWS 24 August 2009

(Brown) began with a plan to make those aged 18-24 and out of work for more than 12 months accept a job found for them or face a benefits cut ...

The government is keen to be active on youth unemployment after figures published last week showed there were 900,000 people aged 18-24 out of work: an unemployment rate of 16.6%, the highest for 15 years.

From January, young people who have been out of work for a year – and refuse a job that the government is now guaranteeing – could lose two weeks' benefit, four weeks' benefit if they turn down a second job, and 26 weeks' loss of benefits for a third failure.

Should a suitable job not be available, they will be offered a choice of training or community work experience.

Failure to complete a 13-week community taskforce assignment without good cause would also result in benefit sanctions ...

Guardian 30 June 2009

Brown pledges £1bn on jobs for young

Unable to buy their own home, saddled with student debt and struggling to find work, the class of 2009 could have their lives scarred for years by the credit crunch ...

The number of under-25s out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance has increased by more than 200,000, to 456,000, over the past year, according to the latest government figures, released last week. On the wider labour market survey measure, an alarming 18.3% of 16- to 25-year-olds are unemployed ...

Observer 21 June 2009

Unemployment rates in the recession have risen the fastest among young people, those living in deprived areas and men, a report revealed today.

The study, published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Department for Work and Pensions and the Government Equalities Office, found that 16.2%, or one in six, of 18 to 24-year-olds were unemployed in the first quarter of this year, compared to 12% in the same period last year.

In deprived areas, unemployment rose to 11.3% from 8.7%, compared to a rise from 5.4% to 7.3% among the population as a whole.

The unemployment rate for men rose from 5.7% to 8.1% and the proportion of men in work stood at 77%, its lowest level for a decade, which the EHRC attributed to significant cuts in the manufacturing sector ...

Guardian 17 June 2009

This year's crop of university graduates might be forgiven for wondering whether they have been sold a pup. They were encouraged by Government to go into higher education, having been told on countless occasions that a degree was the surest route to a decent job. They were even encouraged to accumulate debts in the process. The average graduate will emerge from academia owing £16,000, thanks mainly to the cost of tuition fees.

But rather than walking into a world of opportunities, this year's graduates have been spat out into a collapsing job market. A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that almost a half of firms are not planning to recruit graduates in the coming months. And a new pamphlet from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills advises students to take whatever job they are offered, even if it does not require a degree.

So what, many of these young people will ask, was the purpose of all that study and expense? There is a legitimate question over whether the Government's crude target of channelling 50 per cent of young people into higher education, regardless of aptitude, is appropriate. But for the majority of graduates a degree is an investment that will pay off over the long term. The job market will, eventually, recover. And when it does those young people who have been through higher education will be better placed to take advantage of the upturn. Yet it would be foolish to deny that there is likely to be a good deal of frustration in store for graduates. The question is: what should their approach be in the tough employment market in which they find themselves? Ironically, the best option for some students will be to apply to extend their stay in higher education. Others should consider taking unpaid graduate internships, where feasible, in order to build up their experience. For others it will be appropriate to take modestly-paid jobs while they wait for other opportunities to arise.

The goal for university leavers should be to build up their skills and keep in touch with the employment market. It will be a struggle, but it should still be possible for industrious graduates to find opportunities in recession.

The Independent 26 May 2009

Graduate milk round dries up

Britain has experienced rising unemployment on the scale announced by the government yesterday – but not for almost three decades. The shake-out in the labour market that saw almost 250,000 people lose their jobs in the first three months of the year was the most savage since 1981 ...

An unwelcome echo of the 1980s is that the young are bearing the brunt of the increase in joblessness. Of the 115,000 added to the LFS unemployment measure in March, 56,000 were under 25. Studies have shown that a prolonged spell of unemployment for those just entering the labour market leaves deep, even permanent scars; yesterday's figures showed that one in six 18-to-24-year-olds are now looking for work.

"While the recession is now hitting every sector, every occupation and every region, the big losers are young people", said John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development.

He warned that youth employment prospects, already poor, would deteriorate further when those already without work were joined by the "class of 2009" school-leavers and ­college graduates: "It will be a bleak summer and autumn for this year's crop of young talent." ...

Guardian 12 May 2009

The number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and the claimant count have all increased. The employment rate and the number of people in employment have fallen. The number of vacancies has fallen. Growth in average earnings, both including and excluding bonuses, has fallen. The number of inactive people of working age and the inactivity rate have also fallen.

The unemployment rate was 7.1 per cent for the three months to March 2009, up 0.8 over the previous quarter and up 1.8 over the year. The number of unemployed people increased by 244,000 over the quarter and by 592,000 over the year, to reach 2.22 million. These are the largest quarterly increases in the unemployment level and rate since 1981.

The claimant count was 1.51 million in April 2009. It is up 57,100 over the previous month and up 710,700 over the year. The claimant count has not been higher since August 1997.

The redundancies level for the three months to March 2009 was 286,000, up 27,000 over the quarter and up 175,000 over the year. This is the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.

The employment rate for people of working age was 73.6 per cent for the three months to March 2009, down 0.5 from the previous quarter and down 1.3 over the year. The rate has not been lower since the three months to September 1998. The number of people in employment for the three months to March 2009 was 29.20 million, down 157,000 over the quarter and down 295,000 over the year.

Average earnings including bonuses fell by 0.4 per cent in the three months to March 2009 compared with the previous year ...

The inactivity rate for people of working age was 20.7 per cent for the three months to March 2009, down 0.1 over the previous quarter and down 0.2 over the year. The number of economically inactive people of working age fell by 29,000 over the quarter and by 43,000 over the year to reach 7.83 million.

ONS 12 May 2009

Mr Darling said that the guarantee was to "ensure no young people are left behind due to long-term unemployment". The scheme is likely to focus on jobs in local authorities and under-served areas such as the care home industry.

A spokesman for the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) said that the scheme would be in place by early 2010, and that the young unemployed would be offered one of four options. These will include support to move into key employment sectors such as working as a carer, work-focused training, or meaningful work-related activity such as working on a community project.

Mr Darling's proposal includes the creation of a Future Jobs Fund of £1.1bn. Voluntary organisations and local authorities will be encouraged to apply to this fund to create "long-term, sustainable jobs", the DWP spokesman said.

These new positions will include 50,000 jobs in areas of high unemployment across the country. There will be 50,000 traineeships for young people in the care sector. Care providers will receive a subsidy for employing these young people.

The DWP spokesman said that young people who fit the criteria should contact their local Job Centre in the first instance ...

Telegraph 23 April 2009

A 2008 report by the OECD noted that youth unemployment in the UK had risen from 11% to 14% since 2004, only 45% of low-skilled youths find jobs after leaving school, and 13% of 16 to 24 year olds were not in education, employment or training.

Now the BBC's Mark Easton has posted on his blog a new analysis of recent ONS data revealing that, while 3.8% of the total workforce is claiming Jobseekers' Allowance, 7.8% of 18-24 year-olds are doing so, and up to 19.7% of 18-24 year-olds in the most deprived areas of the country - that's almost one in every five young people!

His Ten O'Clock News report interviewed young adults in Cannock Chase, where youth unemployment has increased from 1-in-20 to 1-in-8 in the past year.

The issue is rapidly becoming one of the greatest concerns among voters, now identified by 23% as one of the most important issues facing Britain today, up from just 6% a year ago, and ranking in fourth place (behind the economy, crime, and race relations/immigration) ...

Jubilee Centre 17 April 2009

As expected, the Budget included a big focus on jobs - after today's job numbers showed that the JSA claimant rate now stands at 4.5%, and the wider unemployment rate has increased to 6.7%.

Youth unemployment has been a problem for ages - well over half a million young people were out of work a year ago. But it's now getting worse. Of the total 2.1 million people out of work, 819k (39%) are aged between 16-17 (188k) and 18-24 (631k) - that's an increase of 143k young people in the last year.

Swindon has now seen the highest increase in overall JSA claimant count in the past year, rising from about 2,000 (1.7%) to 6,300 (5.3%) by March. Hull has the highest youth claimant count, at 10% - but youth unemployment has risen most sharply in the South East, by almost 200% in Swindon.

Quite sensibly, the Chancellor today conceded that he can't prevent all job losses - but he does want to tackle long-term youth unemployment. From January, all young people under 25 who have been out of work for 12 months will be offered a job or training.

Right now, about 17k of 16-17 year olds and 111k of 18-24s have been out of work for 12 months or more. Darling's "guarantee to young people" includes a lot of new numbers - creating or supporting 250k jobs, £260m of new money for training, and 54k additional places in sixth forms and FE colleges this autumn. Let's see how all that gets implemented, and keep our eyes on that long-term youth unemployed total of 128k.

We think FE colleges - like Hull College and Birmingham's Matthew Boulton College - have a vital role to play in their city's economies. For too long, FE has been rather overlooked. Let's hope that today's announcement marks a shift in the Government's thinking, and a renewed focus on the need for more vocational skills training.

Centre for Cities 22 April 2009

The UK rate of youth unemployment has risen above the European average – another worrying sign for the country’s prospects relative to the rest of the world.

In the same week that the IMF predicted Britain would be one of the countries most affected by the world recession, figures released by the Eurostat agency show that the UK rate of unemployment for 16-24 year olds in October was 16.1 per cent - above the Euro area average of 15.9 per cent.

John Philpott, chief economist and public policy director at the CIPD, commented that the UK has for many years prided itself on having relatively low youth unemployment by European Union standards, so these latest figures highlight the severe impact of the recession on job prospects for young people.

“Today’s Eurostat figures are worrying as well as deeply disappointing,” Philpott said. “Britain’s flexible jobs market has been generally considered successful at maintaining relatively low youth unemployment. But the recession is making life very tough for our young jobseekers and youth unemployment is rising fast, with more than 800,000 16-24 year olds unemployed in the UK at the end of 2008.

“At 6.1 per cent, overall UK unemployment remains low by EU standards but the UK is now doing less well when it comes to creating jobs for young people. They have been hit far harder than any other group by the emerging recession and must take priority when it comes to government action on tackling mounting joblessness.”

People Management 30 January 2009

Workers warn over budget promises for young

CESI

Tide of job losses

Young and unemployed

YJN

Britain needs to do more to boost manufacturing, even to the extent of formulating some kind of industrial policy, the Director-General of the CBI has warned. Richard Lambert told The Times that there was an urgent need to bolster manufacturing ahead of major infrastructure work and as the economic slowdown puts more pressure on industry. ...

Mr Lambert said: "Are we right to be the only industrial country not to have anything in terms of industrial policy?" ...

Mr Lambert wants the Government and business to do more to keep key manufacturing bases in Britain. He asked: "Was it sensible of us to sell Westinghouse to Toshiba just when we were on the brink of the biggest nuclear build programme?"

The CBI chief said that he had been persuaded by arguments from Sir John Rose, the Rolls-Royce chief executive, that a better manufacturing base could promote social cohesion because it offers more jobs with mid-level salaries than the extremes generated by the City. Mr Lambert also fears that social cohesion may be compromised if Britain has to import large numbers of specialist workers, such as the tens of thousands of engineers expected to be needed for Crossrail, rather than find home-grown workers. ...

To help to boost manufacturing, Mr Lambert believes that international companies looking to take on large projects in Britain should have some operations here to build up a base, rather than just selling kit into the UK. ...

He also believes that tax policy should change to encourage companies to remain in Britain as more look to relocate.

Mr Lambert will also call for more government money for the Technology Strategy Board, which promotes innovation in industry.

Mr Lambert's comments came as manufacturing activity fell for the fourth consecutive month ...

The Times 02 September 2008

Youngsters leaving school in the United Kingdom without qualifications face increasing hardships in the jobs market, says an international study.

A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows worsening conditions for poorly-qualified 16 to 24 year olds.

Youth unemployment has risen from 11% to 14% since 2002, says the report.

Only 45% of low-skilled youths in the UK have found jobs a year after leaving school, says the report.

The report, Jobs for Youth: United Kingdom, shows that there has been a substantial decline in long-term youth unemployment - down from 23% to 16% since 1997.

But it warns that this trend has been reversed in the past few years, with particular pressure on those leaving school without adequate qualifications - as it highlights a polarised jobs market ... for those who leave education and training with poor qualifications and low skills, there is an increasingly tough outlook.

Only 45% who do not achieve this level will have jobs - with their prospects looking even "less rosy" in the years ahead.

This reflects the changes in the economy, with opportunities being created in the high-skills sector, while unskilled jobs are in decline.

For youngsters leaving school without qualifications this means a "high risk of poor labour market outcomes and social exclusion".

The report says that the number of youngsters not in education or training is 13% - above the OECD average and higher than the 11.6% figure for 1997.

Even for those who are helped by youth employment schemes, the report highlights a "difficult" group trapped in a cycle of failure, alternating between "short employment spells" and "benefit dependency" ...

BBC NEWS 09 July 2008

Help the jobless 'left behind'

Drop-out teens to get extra help

Fewer people than ever are claiming unemployment benefit in prosperous Britain. What's it like for those still without work to be on the outside, looking in?

The UK is more prosperous than it's been for a generation, with fewer people on the dole than at any time since 1975 ...

And yet more than a million people are missing out on the economic party that's been under way in recent years.

The total number of people unemployed is about 1.4 million - close to 4%. Figures released this week show that of those about 876,300 are claiming unemployment benefit.

Paul Gregg, a professor of economics at the University of Bristol ... says about 33% of the unemployed are under 25, although they make up just 19% of the population as a whole ...

The jobless are also predominantly male. More than half of them are between the ages of 25 and 49-years-old. Almost half of them have no GCSEs at grades A to C, or the equivalent. And about 45% of them live in households with children ...

BBC NEWS 14 May 2004