Warning over ‘lost generation’ of young jobless
LONG-term unemployment among 18-24-year olds in the Liverpool city region has doubled in the past year, new research has found.
Education specialists Ambitious Minds, whichj has analysed official data, says there is a “crisis of confidence” among young people regarding job prospects, and warns too of the danger of a lost generation.
Since 2007 – the start of the financial crisis, young unemployment has risen steadily by 6,000 to more than 18,000 at the end of March. In the last six months the number of long-term unemployed has more than trebled to nearly 2,000.
The areas worst blighted are St Helens and Knowsley.
Sean McGuire, chief executive of Ambitious Minds, which works with schools and organisations across the UK on financial literacy and life
skills programmes for young people, said: “We face a real tipping point in the lives of these young people, and the thousands who are entering the world of work for the first time this summer.
“This report starkly illustrates the degree to which our young people’s futures are being affected by global economic forces that no-one can control or tame.
“We have seen the way their expectations and aspirations have been falling as the gravity and length of the economic difficulties has become clear.”
Mr McGuire acknowledges that the over-riding cause of the crisis are the global financial reasons, but argues that the government and local authorities need to invest more in education and skills provision for young people.
