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1.2 million 16-24 year olds currently out of work?

292 replies

Hmmmmwhy · 13/01/2025 21:45

just heard this on the telly, is this correct? Anyone any anecdotal data (your own children- mine are much younger) of why? I find that astounding imagine if these young people never work, terrifying

OP posts:
OneLemonDog · 13/01/2025 23:32

We've been categorizing these young people as NEETs (not in education, employment or training) since the late 90s.

In terms of raw numbers it sound like a lot, but the current rate of NEETs is not all that high. It was at its lowest immediately pre pandemic but ticks up whenever the economy is struggling (it was at its highest during the global financial crisis).

Devonshiregal · 13/01/2025 23:34

Hmmmmwhy · 13/01/2025 21:58

I do think now that every single job you have to apply and for example register an account, fill out tonnes of data only to have to attach your CV as well is quite labour intensive and must be hard never hearing back etc. but I am guessing too a large figure of these young adults are also off due to mental health/ adhd etc. my worry is what if they just don’t work ever? What does t he country do if we don’t have youth coming in to the workforce?

er no sorry but you are really pissing me off now. "off with anxiety/adhd" and shaming people for being on job seekers because it is a pittance and you'd have been sooo embarrassed. You should be embarrassed for saying these things.

I get that some of the younger generation's attitude is princess-y. It is. But it is our generation who made them that way. It didn't come from nowhere. People - like me - are not "off" due to ADHD. My life has been a painful shit show because of it. You would not want to have my brain, trust me. And I have done everything I can to work and contribute and all the rest of it. It is a disability. It is quite literally disabling and a lot of us did not have it managed at all by the generation before us which, I think, is why we have tried so hard to make our kids' grow up in a more understanding environment.

There's so much more to it all though than these over arching stereotypes of 'lazy' kids, or 'anxiety' or 'too above menial jobs'. Yes there are some who fit those categories. There have been in every generation. But actually it's reflective of a society which is not functioning.

A society which has wrapped itself up in knots because it allows elitist organisations like the BBC to continue despite the fact they're regularly proven to be corrupt bastards - and how do they convince us to let them continue despite their bad behaviour? Oh yes, by creating tick boxing exercises for show which encourage anyone applying for a job to have to openly go on and on about their various 'disadvantages' or they WON'T get a job. Not to mention that every show they create must also promote 'diversities' as positives, enforcing the need to be categorised as vulnerable to be of importance. It all just perpetuates rather than creating any actual positive change.

Then there is the fact that, as much as the government will try to pretend otherwise, there just aren't a lot of gettable jobs - as you say, you used to pop into the local shop or pub to ask for a job. Well, pubs and shops are either shut or are on highly reduced staff numbers because they're trying not to shut.

Then there's the fact that people, for a long time, were told basically you must go to uni or you're not achieving. A government backed campaign of 'learning a trade isn't good enough'. Well that sent a lot of people through university, getting them in to debt, for no apparent reason when they could have been out in the world learning and earning as they went.

Then there's the whole being unable to move out and rent, let alone buy a house. It's pretty demotivating to know you're going to work a job you don't like to achieve...nothing. Other than working forever because retirement age is basically 'death bed' and even if you could retire early you couldn't afford the care home fees. Plus for some reason our society looks down on intergenerational homes so your kids aren't going to want you living with them....

If you are lucky enough to have had reasonably straightforward path through the working world, be grateful. Im sure there are things that have happened in your life that you feel were unlucky, things that you had to overcome. So I wonder why, when you see other people struggling and not doing the things you feel they should be, you just assume they're kinda lazy fucks rather than thinking they must be in the middle of trying to overcome something too.

ShamblesRock · 13/01/2025 23:37

My DD falls into the group, left part way through her first term at uni last year and well, we are no further forward.

I want her to work, but something is always in the way.

I feel helpless, especially as she doesn't know what she wants to do, and I'm not sure how much effort she is really putting into it. Weeks ago I offered her support to write a CV (through a colleague of mine), not seen a CV yet.

HowAmITheCatsGranny · 13/01/2025 23:41

No one wants to employ under 18’s any more because there are so many things they legally can’t do and hours they can’t work. Even at 18+ my ds struggled to get a job, although after dozens of applications he did eventually find a part time role. I live in a pretty low income area, and a lot of minimum wage / entry level roles are being done by people of all ages, so there’s more competition for young inexperienced people. Graduates from uni are also struggling to find jobs in their fields and staying in the retail and hospitality jobs they did while at university in the meantime.

SpryUmberZebra · 13/01/2025 23:44

notnowbernadette · 13/01/2025 21:46

Lots of that age group will be in education so they may not be in the job market

It’s a different category from those in education, it means then are not in education and are looking for work but can’t get a job.

TheHateIsNotGood · 13/01/2025 23:44

And I appreciate the difficulties faced now; back in '78 as a 15 year old I got a job cleaning airplanes as they came in and out of the airport with an airside pass, promoted to Unit Leader and had a good pay too. I left before I was even old enough to work there (18+).

You couldn't do that now; you can hardly do anything at all now outside of 'regime'. Humans aren't bots and the youngsters now are rebelling against the mediocrity of it all. Quite possibly by 'inactivity'.

And thus it was ever so - the young outrage the old. Except now it's the middlers that are outraged; the old are keeping watch and laughing.

sweetkitty · 13/01/2025 23:46

My DD is 20 left school at 17 1/2 due to her mental health, she hasn’t worked or been to college since. Hasn’t claimed benefits either, she just doesn’t exist to the system. A long heartbreaking story.

Other DD has just started uni and moved to a new city she’s not gonna job either applied god a few bit heard nothing

DelilahBucket · 13/01/2025 23:54

DS is 16. He has made some good contacts through his band and works at a pub on. Friday night, training to be a sound engineer. He doesn't earn enough to go through payroll though but he isn't technically unemployed. I imagine there's quite a lot of this. Traditional jobs as we know, are very difficult to get at that age these days.

ViciousCurrentBun · 14/01/2025 00:00

One of DS mates graduated last summer, he did film studies not managed to get anything. DS got a once a week paper round when he was 13. The paper went online when he was 16 so he then worked in a kitchen as a kitchen porter for a year. My mates BF was head chef. DH got him and friends of his work experience places. As always it’s handy having contacts. He then worked at an airport after A levels for 18 months, he took his in 2020. He then started a degree apprenticeship. He also ran a cadet group.

Every young person I know that has done ok has confidence and contacts, they can be clever but it’s not enough.

I was wondering about the age restrictions being lifted with changes to the minimum wage coming. It’s only going to get harder.

Miley1967 · 14/01/2025 00:03

My 22 year old ds is socially awkward, struggles in social situations. he is a Uni student but only recently has managed to get a part time supermarket job and even then just temporary over Xmas. He applied for hundreds of jobs, it's quite depressing. My close circle of friends all have kids with adhd, anxiety and depression although most f them do work.

OneLemonDog · 14/01/2025 00:04

Yes, the current rates of youth unemployment are fairly high, but not as high as they were in the early 2010s or early 90s.

The link the OP posted mentions that it's at a 10 year high, which is correct, but that's in part because they were very low, right up until the start of the pandemic and have climbed significantly since (probably a combo of the economic downturn along with pandemic-related MH struggles).

These are not particularly high rates though, neither in the context over the UK over time or similar rates in other countries today. I think people are reading too much into this.

PontiacFirebird · 14/01/2025 00:18

Well it’s obvious to me really. You decimate customer service, replace counter assistants in fast food places with screens, replace checkout operators with self check outs, replace actual shops either Amazon and replace fixed hours with zero hour contracts.. all for our “ convenience “ and there are a LOT fewer jobs. Add to that the system of AI application processes where a kid can’t just walk into a shop with a cv because it’s all apply online ( and endless aptitude tests). The only people I know aged 16-19 with a part time job are ones where their parents knew someone who could give them one.
They ALL want jobs, they DONT think they are too good for shelf stacking, but there’s nothing out there for them.
Its utterly soul destroying.

Tangerinenets · 14/01/2025 00:22

My daughter left full time education last June. She’s 18 1/2. Since then she’s applied for around 100 jobs. We are at the stage where anything will do. Such a shame because she’s amazing, personable, hard working and ambitious and if those employers met her they’d love her but sadly a lot of applications are rejected within minutes of applying. Bring back face to face agencies! She does have a part time job but really wants a full time position. Sadly her dream job requires her to have a maths gcse which she is retaking for the 4th time despite there being absolutely no maths needed.

Needspaceforlego · 14/01/2025 00:25

Cakeandusername · 13/01/2025 22:58

I advertised an entry level legal admin job last year and was swamped (it paid just over minimum wage) I was surprised how many yp applying had degrees and some had postgraduate degrees (some from prestigious universities) but not any paid work at all.

That's a huge part of the problem. Young people are being sold the dream - get good grades, go to uni - but there just isn't enough graduate jobs either.
It's so scary to see young people coming out of uni to get a pub job.

Those jobs should be in the hands of students, young people with degrees should have a toe on the career ladder.

echt · 14/01/2025 00:29

Hmmmmwhy · 13/01/2025 22:37

Is this correct? So it is 1.2 million in neither? Surely not..

It's here, the same link I posted earlier.

learningandwork.org.uk/what-we-do/employment-and-social-security/labour-market-analysis/november-2024/#:~:text=A%20further%20troubling%20rise%20means,career%20prospects%20and%20the%20economy.

JHound · 14/01/2025 00:31

Hmmmmwhy · 13/01/2025 21:45

just heard this on the telly, is this correct? Anyone any anecdotal data (your own children- mine are much younger) of why? I find that astounding imagine if these young people never work, terrifying

Out of work as in looking but not finding anything?

I was out of work between those ages because I was a student.

BiancasSilverCoat · 14/01/2025 00:32

These are the folk who had their crucial exam/adult launchpad years fucked up by covid aren't they? Hardly surprising they're having a rough time. Maybe booming mindlessly on about "resilience" doesn't actually do much in the way of encouraging it, after all.

MerryMaker · 14/01/2025 00:47

Hmmmmwhy · 13/01/2025 21:50

Just seems crazy, me and all my friends had jobs from being 14-15 (pot washers etc) and then through uni (the ones who went) part time and the ones who didn’t all worked. Nobody didn’t work cos it wasn’t an option? Job seekers was a pittance and you’d have died of embarrassment . Working class area in north in 90’s/00’s

Job seekers is still a pittance

Needspaceforlego · 14/01/2025 00:49

@BiancasSilverCoat you are absolutely right.
It's 5 years ago, the kids who started secondary in 2020 would be 6th year (England Yr 12 last year of school?) So 16 / 17 now. So many opportunities missed for them.

Even kids a few years older, someone up thread suggested her swimmers all got coaching certs at 16, and I think that's good advice to anyone doing a sport at a reasonable level. But so many would have fallen away from sports, dance and music because of lock-downs and restrictions.

MerryMaker · 14/01/2025 00:52

OneLemonDog · 13/01/2025 23:32

We've been categorizing these young people as NEETs (not in education, employment or training) since the late 90s.

In terms of raw numbers it sound like a lot, but the current rate of NEETs is not all that high. It was at its lowest immediately pre pandemic but ticks up whenever the economy is struggling (it was at its highest during the global financial crisis).

Agreed. There are far less young people in this category than there used to be.

The easiest work to get is call centre work

caringcarer · 14/01/2025 00:59

Now employers have to pay NICs for employees earning over I think it was about £5500 per year they are taking on less staff. As staff retire or leave they are not getting replaced. This is how a recession begins.

HeySinnerman · 14/01/2025 01:00

My son is 19 and at uni. He has a diagnosis of ASD, I do not have a clue where he would be finding a job near here if he wasn’t getting a degree for his interests and future career. There are very few jobs that young people can do, and I agree, so many just aren’t cut out for the world of work. Parents have facilitated this. At work we get parents phoning in sick for their under 30 adult children, or phoning if there is an issue. These parents didn’t have their own parents generation phoning in, so what has happened?

caringcarer · 14/01/2025 01:06

lavenderlou · 13/01/2025 22:14

That would actually be a good starter job for someone anxious, maybe autistic. Those sorts of jobs don't really exist any more though.

Where I used to live they employed autistic young people and you g people with learning disabilities in a plant nursery. They grew lots of different plants from seeds, if they could manage it they served coffee and tea in the small cafe area and one would be serving in the shop. I used to buy my hanging baskets from them each year. It was part of some scheme to give autistic young people and those with learning disabilities work experience but several went on into work in a nearby plant nursery after getting the skills they taught there. I moved house so no longer know if it's still running.

MerryMaker · 14/01/2025 01:07

caringcarer · 14/01/2025 00:59

Now employers have to pay NICs for employees earning over I think it was about £5500 per year they are taking on less staff. As staff retire or leave they are not getting replaced. This is how a recession begins.

This is not true. Employers NI starts at £12,570 a year.

There is now a lower limit which simply means if you give employees work benefits such as a work mobile phone, then NI may need to be applied to those

Needspaceforlego · 14/01/2025 01:08

I don't think mobile phones are ever classed as BiK.