THE TUC said yesterday that young people not in full-time education are now less likely to be in work than people of other ages and their prospects are declining.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady commented: ‘Ministers seem keener on kicking struggling youngsters when they’re down and removing the safety net they need to learn new skills and find work.
‘We need to increase funding for employment programmes, for example by guaranteeing a job or training to any young person who’s been out of work for six months or more.
‘Spending more money on jobs support now will save money in the long run by getting more people in work and paying taxes.’
O’Grady was introducing the TUC report, Equitable Full Employment: A jobs recovery for all.
This looks at employment rates for different groups – including lone parents, disabled, black and Asian employees, as well as older and poorly qualified workers – and finds that in most cases their job prospects have improved over the last 17 years.
Nonetheless, these groups remain far less likely to find work than the rest of the working population.
But this improvement is not being felt by young people who aren’t in full-time education, or who have basic or no qualifications. Their prospects have deteriorated rapidly over the same period.
The job situation facing young people outside full-time education is particularly alarming, says the TUC.
Back in 1998, three-quarters of young people who weren’t studying were in work – higher than the employment rate for all workers at the time (71 per cent).
However, these youngsters’ job prospects fell behind that of other workers in mid-2005 and have continued to decline ever since.
The job chances of young people not in full-time education converged with workers aged 50-64 last summer – a remarkable turnaround given that they were 25 per cent more likely to be in work than older workers back in 1998.
The TUC report also shows that fewer than half of those who have no qualifications are in work, while the employment rate for those who only have basic (level 1) qualifications has fallen to around 63 per cent.
Unless action is taken, the prospects for low-skilled youngsters and unqualified people of all ages will continue to deteriorate, warns the TUC.
Visiting Ritzy cinema strikers in Brixton on Saturday, O’ Grady gave her support to the upcoming Young Socialists March for Jobs from London to the TUC Congress in Liverpool.
She said: ‘That’s a long way. We’ll have to welcome you with a cup of tea.’
Asked wasn’t it time the TUC called a general strike, she added: ‘I was wondering when you’d get round to that.
‘We have to work democratically. I don’t think a lot of my friends on the General Council think I should have that kind of power.’
