Unemployment woes continue in the U.K. especially for the young
September 17, 2009
Hopes that the U.K.’s economy was finally on the mend were dampened when statistics for the three months to July this year showed that unemployment in the country is now at a fourteen year high with 2.47 million people out of work. The figures rose by 210,000 over the three months making the unemployment rate now 7.9%
Real concern is being voiced for the amount of young people now out of work. In the 16 to 24 year old age group one in every five people is without a job. The figure is now at 947,000 and is moving perilously close to the one million mark.
Yvette Cooper, Work and Pensions Secretary said that it was always younger people who were hit hardest during a recession because employers tended to put off their recruitment drives. Many fear that the result will be a lost generation. This is especially bad news for those who have left school and university and are preparing to enter the job market.
General Secretary of the GMB union, Paul Kenny said that workers were paying a heavy price for the recession, in particular young workers.
Cooper said that the problem of unemployment in young people was one of the reasons why the government was investing so heavily in getting those people into jobs. She said she felt it was very important to get people into that first training position or that first work experience position just to get them started.
Some economists predict that unemployment will hit the 3 million mark in 2010.
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