Young people say how unemployment has affected them in new report

A report published by the Prince’s Trust has found that unemployed young people living in the UK today are significantly less happy with their friendships, family life and health than those in work.

The Prince's Trust YouGov Youth Index 2010, which is based on interviews with 2,088 16-to-25-year-olds found that unemployed young people are also more likely to feel ashamed, rejected and unloved more of the time. One in ten young people (11 per cent) who took part in the research claim that unemployment drove them to drugs or alcohol. The report warns that this could lead to permanent psychological damage for young people affected by the current recession.

Speaking about the report Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust said, “The implications of youth unemployment stretch beyond the dole queue. The emotional effects on young people are profound, long-term and can become irreversible. We must act now to prevent a lost generation of young people before it is too late”.

Young people taking part in the research were asked about their attitudes to their life. The majority (68 per cent) agree their life has direction and fifteen per cent appear to feel their life lacks direction. This figure increased to 42 per cent for those not in education, employment or training (NEETs). The poll also found that NEETs are more than twice as likely to feel they have nothing to look forward to in life. They also feel less valued by the people around them and are twice as likely to claim they have lost their way in life. One in four young people (25 per cent) claim to have felt suicidal, with this figure increasing to more than one in three (35 per cent) for NEETs Young people were also asked about how their joblessness had affected their life in other ways. Twenty five percent said it caused arguments with their family and more than one in five claim they have lost the confidence to go to job interviews. 28 per cent claim that unemployment has caused them to exercise less, with around one in six of those currently out of work getting no exercise at all.

The research coincides with the announcement by the Prince’s Trust of their new “Undiscovered” campaign to reach out to and discover the talents of young people affected by the recession. The campaign calls for the Government, businesses and individuals to help the charity raise £1milion a week to support unemployed and disadvantaged young people.

This is the second year of The Prince’s Trust YouGov Youth Index which measures how young people feel about the state of their lives today and how confident they are about their future.

Fri, 08/01/2010 - 12:41