Concerns grow over youth unemployment

Research suggests that more than a third of young people who leave school with no qualifications are "on the employment and education scrapheap."

A new analysis of the Labour Force Survey by think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Private Equity Foundation has found that the risk of teenagers dropping out of school, training or work has increased by 40% since the start of the recession.

By the second quarter of this year, just over 9% of those with Level 3 qualifications (including A-levels) were classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training), compared to just 6.4% in the first quarter of 2008.

But although the downturn has had a major impact on the prospects of young people with qualifications (especially graduates), school-leavers without any qualifications at all represent an even bigger long-term problem.

IPPR co-director Lisa Harker says "Whilst those with A-levels and degrees have seen their risk of becoming NEET increase the fastest, they are much better protected than those without qualifications and are likely to do better when the economy recovers.  The challenges facing young people with no qualifications are not just the result of the recession, suggesting a long-term problem."

Meanwhile the Universities and Colleges Union has slammed the lack of funding for additional university places at a time when demand for HE places and apprenticeships is at an all-time high.  General secretary Sally Hunt said "The government's refusal to fund sufficient places, but threaten institutions with fines for over-recruitment, means we will see thousands desperately fighting over the few places available through clearing or facing an uncertain job market.  With punitive cuts planned for both further and higher education, we risk consigning a whole generation to the scrapheap of inactivity."

Despite the gloom, the Recruitment and Employment Federation reckons that long-term prospects for school-leavers remain "positive".  Although employers' short-term hiring plans have been affected by the economic climate, the latest REC Jobs Outlook survey suggests that a growing number expect to start hiring again within the next twelve months.  Chief executive Kevin Green commented "School-leavers are facing a perfect storm of an extremely competitive jobs market, a lack of effective guidance and a shortage of university places.  However, our advice is to remain positive as there are still job opportunities out there."

●  Youth unemployment remains a major problem on a global level.  Research from the International Labour Organization has found that 81m (out of a total of 620m) ‘economically active' people aged 15-24 were unemployed at the end of 2009 - the highest number ever recorded.  ILO projections suggest that the global youth unemployment rate of 13% will increase marginally to 13.1% this year before moderating slightly to 12.7% in 2011.

Analysts conclude that youth unemployment rates have been more sensitive to the economic crisis than adult rates, and that the job market for young people will take longer to recover.  The report warns of "significant consequences for young people as upcoming cohorts of new entrants join the ranks of the already unemployed", as well as "the risk of a crisis legacy of a ‘lost generation' of young people who have dropped out of the labour market, having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living."

●  The ILO, together with the International Monetary Fund, is running a joint conference in Oslo on 13^th September to explore "new ways of forging a sustainable, job-rich recovery from the global economic crisis."