Charity in unemployment policy plea

Jun 20 2012

Policies aimed at helping jobless youngsters should be extended to all those aged under 30 who do not have a job, a charity has suggested.

The chief executive of Project Scotland made the plea after a new report showed the unemployment rate amongst 25 to 29-year-olds almost doubled in just three years.

In 2010-11, 8.4% of this age range were out of work, compared to 4.7% in 2007-08.

Meanwhile, the number of women aged 25 to 29 who are out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance has more than doubled between April 2008 and April this year.

Typically, youth employment policies are aimed at helping those aged 16 to 24 into work.

But Susan Watt, chief executive of the national volunteering programme Project Scotland, said it had extended the age range of people it works with up to 30. And she urged politicians to consider including this group on employment strategies.

Project Scotland commissioned a study into young people's transition into adulthood, with the research carried out by ScotCen Social Research.

The report, entitled A Stalled Generation?, said there was "no doubt that for most young people in Scotland today the transition to adult life is very different from that experienced by their parents or grandparents, and that recent economic developments have had some far-reaching consequences".

It highlighted the impact of the recession, saying: "Young people in the UK have been badly hit by the recent downturn." It pointed out unemployment among graduates across the UK had "risen sharply", with many of this group also working in lower skills jobs.

While the risk of unemployment was greatest among school leavers, the report said unemployment rates had "increased significantly" among those aged 20 to 24 and 25 to 29, "a group which typically falls outside the rubric of 'young people' and 'youth unemployment'".