Youth unemployment

[klondike]

From observation I think it must be quite high. With the NI increase, looming depression and imminent employment rights bill from Ange I can only assume it will get worse too.

The reason I think it must be high is from trying to find a slack period at the gym. Go early-ish and that's when it's full of folk waiting to be able to use their bus passed. From 10am onwards there seem to be loads of youngsters - past school age but not what I'd call adults. They don't seem to be university types either but I suppose you can't really tell these days. Some look pretty athletic - mostly the coloured lads but the rest pretty weedy and just seem to treat the place as a sort of youth club as they are certainly not training hard.

[Alex]

I imagine it will be busier too now school's out for summer

[JBR]

I think we're missing the elephant in the room.
These days, many young people leave school and either go to university or claim 'mental illness' and go on the dole rather than getting a job.
Wen ah wer a lad, going on the dole was not so easy.  I think you were given handouts, and not a lot at that, for only a week or two and if you were not in a job (any job) by then, your income would dry up.

[Raven]

While I agree with all, it's not as simple as you seem to make out. The jobs are not there like in our day because of older people being made to keep working and not retire, if the government stopped raising the retirement age we'd be leaving and freeing up the jobs for the younger ones. Also AI and machines are doing people out of jobs, so no matter how much a young person wants to work, if there's no jobs there's no jobs.
Also, in my dark side thinking,  it would help if employers here stopped hiring migrants and gave the jobs to the real Brits.

[klondike]

It could be school holidays boosting it but it has been similar for quite a while.

[muddy]

While I agree with all, it's not as simple as you seem to make out. The jobs are not there like in our day because of older people being made to keep working and not retire, if the government stopped raising the retirement age we'd be leaving and freeing up the jobs for the younger ones. Also AI and machines are doing people out of jobs, so no matter how much a young person wants to work, if there's no jobs there's no jobs.
Also, in my dark side thinking,  it would help if employers here stopped hiring migrants and gave the jobs to the real Brits.

Well said ! 

[GrannyMac]

My son has a family pass for their gym, mainly used by my teenage granddaughter who has just finished her A levels.  At our leisure centre, lots of middle aged (often early retired) and older people at the times I go, but now its the school holidays...loads of families, kids of all ages.  

Re work?  I tend to agree with JBR, there are definitely some playing the mental health card.  I also think some are very choosy about what they are prepared to do.  There's also the myth that going to university is for everyone.  I'm afraid it can be a costly experience with no guarantee of a glittering career for many young people.  

[Ashy]

Sadly once North Sea Oil came on stream in 1979-1980 the government started to have plenty of money, and very quickly got rid of the industries where most of us were employed. The trade unions had no idea what to do about it. We'd already lost the town gas industry, which was huge, and almost overnight our local paper went from a pull out supplement for situations vacant, to a single page.

[JBR]

Sadly once North Sea Oil came on stream in 1979-1980 the government started to have plenty of money, and very quickly got rid of the industries where most of us were employed. The trade unions had no idea what to do about it. We'd already lost the town gas industry, which was huge, and almost overnight our local paper went from a pull out supplement for situations vacant, to a single page.

This is true.  Many of our manual jobs have disappeared, which is one reason why we now have so many unemployed.
The situation could, eventually, be reversed if we forgot about 'nett zero', which is unachievable anyway.
We could still drill for oil and gas, and even mine coal, and expand our nuclear industry, if the political incentive was there.  These would, as a consequence, increase the number of jobs which makes use of those energy sources and their distribution and maintenance.
Sadly, many of our young people don't seem to have any interest in looking for a job anyway.  Unfortunately, for them, the handouts can't keep coming when the money runs out, especially as our new government seems more interested in paying out to our illegal invaders.
The country is doomed!

(Sorry about all these responses all at once.  Marge tells me that we're going out to the Peak District today, so I can only come here before and after!)

[ansu]

Some months ago I watched a report on TV on jobless young people in the UK. As far as I can judge, the problem in the UK is the same as in Germany. Most unemployed youngsters are people who dropped school and often come from families getting income support - at least here in Germany. Our middle class industry (handicraft) or how you call it, is looking for apprentices, but school droppers are not qualified, they have a lack regarding discipline and often can't read, write and calculate properly. Moreover, if you are more than one year without a job it is difficult to get used to the routine again. 

[JBR]

Some months ago I watched a report on TV on jobless young people in the UK. As far as I can judge, the problem in the UK is the same as in Germany. Most unemployed youngsters are people who dropped school and often come from families getting income support - at least here in Germany. Our middle class industry (handicraft) or how you call it, is looking for apprentices, but school droppers are not qualified, they have a lack regarding discipline and often can't read, write and calculate properly. Moreover, if you are more than one year without a job it is difficult to get used to the routine again.

Very interesting.  The Germans have always been hard working people, but it seems that you are now experiencing the youth disinterest in work just as we are.

In the 1920s, Britain experienced a situation where many working men were unable to get a job.  What was worse was that there was no social security payments to the unemployed in those days so the unfortunate men had a choice of making money through begging, crime, or starving.

The way our country is going now, I can see the same thing happening before long: no social security payments to the unemployed.  Our laziest young people are going to get a rude awakening.

[klondike]

My grandfather was unemployed for years. I asked him how they managed. He just said well we cut a bit of wood. I'm pretty sure he was a poacher but he never admitted to anything.

[Alex]

My German neighbour always said to me that the difference between our people was the Brits work to live and the Germans live to work ! obviously changed now 

[ansu]

You are right, much has changed in Germany lately. Many of us no longer live to work. However, the working conditions have changed, too. 

[muddy]

I would not like to be young today looking for work .