 18-25 year-olds are being hit the hardest by rising levels of unemployment according to figures released by the New Policy Institute.
The survey by the public policy think tank revealed that since 1995, four times the number of people in the age category have been left without a job. Retail, hospitality, sales and finance are the sectors thought to be hit worst by the economic downturn, with the unemployment figure reaching a new high of 579,000, an increase of 53,000 since last year alone. The Association of Graduate Recruiters, who surveyed recruiting firms, also released a report stating that graduates being employed after leaving university have fallen by one per cent. However, Kingston Reed Specialist manager, Matt O’Neill, disagreed with the report and said: “18 to 25 year olds have the highest employment rate, not the lowest, so that’s strange.”
Though the pressure is on students to find a job on completion of their studies, a survey of Kingston undergraduates revealed that finding work during term time is thought to be as much a struggle as it would be finding a job upon graduation.
Haddy Secka, a second year sociology student at KU, said: “Employers want you to work full time a lot and we can’t manage that.” Nikki Adenowo, 20, also a sociology student at Kingston said: “It’s hard for me because I have to fit it around my studies.” Both girls said the majority of their friends are unemployed, simply because they did not have time to work. Despite undergraduate and postgraduate unemployment figures rising, a number of local recruitment agencies have chosen to remain slightly more optimistic. A spokesperson for Harris Jones, on Union Street in Kingston, said: “If we do not place the people it doesn’t mean they are unemployed. To be honest, a totally accurate employment rate in an area is unlikely to be had unless proper marketing research was undertaken.” Picture credit: BBC
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