Why is youth unemployment at such a record high?

High in the news again this week is youth unemployment with the unemployment rate reaching a record high of almost 20per cent as the jobless total continues to increase.

 

Here are just some of the figures published:

 

• The number of people out of work increased by 30,000 between July and September to just under two and a half million.

 

• Jobseeker's allowance rose by 12,900 in October to 1.64 million, the 20th consecutive monthly increase, giving the worst total for 12 years.

 

• The number of people classed as economically inactive, including those on long-term sick leave, looking after a relative or who have given up looking for work, reached a record high of eight million after a 41,000 increase over the latest quarter.

 

• Youth unemployment also continued to rise, with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds up by 15,000 to 943,000, giving a rate of 19.8 per cent, a record high.  

 

Call me old and maybe cynical but when youth unemployment continues to rise at such a rate, I think you can’t help but begin to wonder if it is because there aren’t enough jobs out there for the young? or is it because we’ve created a generation that have no work ethic and no sense of drive and ambition?