Nearly 1m young people out of work

[Starfeesh]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62gzl2yl24o

AIBU to be concerned that a life on benefits seems to be a viable option, and glad Labour are bringing in compulsory work placements?

My cousin’s daughter got a NT apprenticeship at 18, can highly recommend!

Even with a STEM degree from a RG university it can be super hard - DS1 sent out 120 applications, received 3 in person interviews (after countless online tests and hire vue interviews) and secured 3 offers. If you can get to the stage where someone is interviewing you in real life then it gets so much easier as I think AI is screening out lots of the really good candidates and its quite random who actually makes it through. Of the people he joined with he was the only one without an Economics degree from Oxford, Cambridge or LSA so I definitely think some universities and degrees open more doors than others and STEM isn't necessarily a golden ticket (his degree was Physics so a large math element which I think was important for the job). He also said that of the 12 new joiners he started with 2 have already quit because they didn't like the hours or the demands of the job so provided you are willing to graft when you get there you are really appreciated.

Central Greater Manchester BRMA
Shared Accommodation Rate:
£94.72 per week
One Bedroom Rate:
£178.36 per week
Two Bedrooms Rate:
£201.37 per week
Three Bedrooms Rate:
£218.63 per week
Four Bedrooms Rate:
£310.68 per week

This is house much LHA will pay towards your rent.

Single people under 35, or those sharing facilities, generally receive the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) LHA, which is the lowest rate. Those 35 or over, or in self-contained accommodation (private bathroom/kitchen), are usually entitled to the one-bedroom rate.

No one I know on benefits gets only £400 a month. Some rare unicorn somewhere may do but certainly not the majority.

I know someone who was claiming UC until very recently. That was slightly more than they were getting.

Presumably they lived at home then ? Because £400 a month would not cover rent etc. My friends get most of their incredibly expensive rent paid for which i consider part of their benefits.

There is not even a million job vacancies for people of all ages that are looking for work.
It is all very well saying that you handed CVs in to the local shops 20 years ago etc. Times are very different now. You take a CV to a shop now, and they tell you to apply online. You apply online... send a CV at 2am and get a rejection within 10 minutes. No one looked at it. It is AI filtering people out now.

And for the few PP saying that young people and graduates think they are above things like cleaning.... DM has a cleaning company and gets loads of youngsters and graduates applying for work... and a lot of her vacancies are 8 hours a week or less. Those young job seekers are just looking for anything right now.

In the 80s there was very high unemployment. Unemployment is not a new phenomenon.

They did not because they own their house. The slightly less than £400 had to cover utility bills, food, clothes and everything else. How can you count rent being paid by housing benefit? The claimant doesn’t see a penny of that.

But if it wasn’t being paid by benefits the claimant would have to find rent from their own resources

You don't even have to own your house. I was classed as a contrived tenancy, so no housing element for me either.

How do you propose they’d do that on £100 a week?

Most LHA don't even cover rent.
Where I live, the LHA will still leave you short of £200 for rent.... taken from £400. That leaves you £200 to pay for all bills, food, toiletries, clothing etc.

I live as frugal as I can, and my bills are still over £200pm.

They can’t, but it’s ridiculous not to include the housing benefit in the total amount paid to them. It’s still money that they’re using.

Not really, because not everyone gets it.
And has been said, the housing element in UC often does not cover the actual rent.

The LHA for a single person where I live is £620pm. I looked on Rightmove for one bed properties for that price. Not. A. Single. One

But if they get it, it’s still money they are not having to pay personally.

It”s misleading to say someone gets, say, £400 when actually they’re getting an additional £750 paid towards their rent.

I think you are missing something here. The "rent" from UC does not cover the rent you are charged from your landlord. So that has to come from the £100pw you get. A chunk of their rent is coming out that £400.

I think we’re talking about different things.

i was responding to a poster who said that the LHA amount shouldn’t be counted as the person never sees the money. My point is that it should be as it’s still money that’s being used for their benefit.

Whether it covers the full rent or not isn’t really relevant to the point I’m trying to make.

I am not sure what point you are trying to make? The housing element is not spending money, and not everyone on UC gets it anyway... even some people who rent.

I hate to say it but I think a lot of it is down to many young people being lazy workers

We stopped a graduate scheme at my work after a series of grads who caused more bother than they did benefit.

this included:

• the mum of a 23yo calling up to chastise me because I gave feedback on the grad’s first attempt at the newsletter. It was a great attempt for a first time but I said a few things like “make this bit snappier” and “Can this have more detail please”. Apparently I was criticising her.
• mental health days, which weren’t part of organisation policy, they’d just call up saying they were taking one
• getting huffy at being asked to set up a meeting room. They don’t get that they can’t just do all the exciting jobs, that everyone has to do menial work when they start and a more senior person shouldn’t have to do it
• constant banging on about boundaries, whilst giving no shits about how “asserting their boundaries” quite often meant impinging on the boundaries of others

the pendulum has swung too far the other way and workplaces are suffering.

But FOR THE PEOPLE WHO GET IT.

Say they get LHA of £750 and they get an additional £400.

They’re actually getting £1150. A previous poster said they were only getting £400 as the LHA amount is for rent. That argument makes no sense. I wouldn’t say I get my salary less housing costs.

They get a LHA of £750 but their rent is actually £900. So that £150 comes out of the £400... and has to cover everything.

I am not sure how you are not getting it. Stop making out people on UC are rolling in it because their rent is paid. In a lot of cases, it isn't.

Oh FFS. I am not trying to say people on UC are rolling in it.

I am saying some people get money towards their rent which has to be included in the total amount of benefits quoted.

If I earn £1500 but pay £1000 rent would you also say I only get £500? It’s the same thing! You look at the total amount.

Ok, I see now.
But what people get on UC is down to their individual circumstances. So I am still unsure what point you are trying to make.
Even rent and standard UC is well under what someone on MW would be getting anyway.

Is why the bullshit rags peddling rage about someone on benefits getting £70k in money from the DWP is often crap.