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?

@Gingerbeersallround

There are many 'undesirable' jobs available. Why, because people don't want them.

No there really aren't. Not in lots of areas anyway.

What is the point of university then?

Of course. In a pp mentioned around 50 people applying for a dishwashing job.

The NI hit is actually greater on lower paid jobs.

For our eldest it’s because he wants to go into nuclear research (for energy not weapons just to clarify) and they don’t let you mess about with radioactive material unless you have some idea what you are doing.

Youngster wants to be a KC - so he needs law qualifications

Many jobs still need degrees.

Yep, and I mentioned 80 people applying for a 2hr pw cleaning job. People are desperate for anything right now.
And in the case of my DM's cleaning company, she wont even interview someone unless they have experience.

Not a terrible idea - and is how the Brits and the Irish ended up in all the corners of the world. But not that simple either. Have to be 18 for those visas. Aus and NZ have proof of funds requirements (around $3-5k I think?) plus person has to pay visa costs of several hundred, then flights to get there, accommodation and then find a job. More jobs in those countries but will be fewer if a few hundred thousand young Brits turn up.

There are limits on the numbers of those visas that they give out anyway. It's a nice idea but I wonder if they'd get there and find the jobs aren't really there either. I did see someone posting about being in Sydney and having similar experiences applying for a million things and getting nowhere like youngsters in the UK.

I hit the work market in the 80's and unemployment in the young was the highest it had been since the 1930's depression and higher than it is now. But the problem is that the counting mechanisms are different so its hard to get a true picture.

In the 80's Youth unemployment alone, was well over 1 million at several points, depending on the definition used. Many young people were not counted as unemployed because they were pushed into the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), which removed them from unemployment statistics even though they were not in real jobs (does this sound familiar) . The scheme was introduced specifically to address “rising unemployment rates among the youth” in the 70s and 80s . The government also threatened to remove benefits from young people who refused YTS placements, which again distorted the numbers by shifting people off benefit rolls rather than into work . So although the headline numbers varied, the true scale of youth unemployment and benefit dependency was very likely higher than official figures suggested. I worked for the Dept of Employment at the time so I remember this well.

How the 1980s counted young people:
Many unemployed young people were excluded from unemployment or benefit statistics if they were placed on YTS (a scheme introduced by the Conservative govt). Benefit categories were narrower and less standardised. Disability‑related benefits for young people were far less common and often not recorded separately. Data collection was inconsistent and not designed for transparency.

How today’s figures are counted:
Benefit categories are much clearer and more granular (e.g., Universal Credit, ESA, PIP). Young people on training schemes are still counted if they receive benefits. Disability and health‑related claims are explicitly recorded, which increases visibility. Data is collected nationally and published regularly. This means today’s “1 million young people on benefits” is a more transparent and inclusive figure than anything published in the 1980s.

So this is nothing new and it has been much worse!