A Prince's Trust survey warns that young victims of the recession will find it hard to secure jobs and attain happiness in the future
An unemployed and dejected "lost generation" of young people will find it increasingly hard to secure jobs and attain happiness in the future, according to a survey released today.
The recession is likely to scar the lives of the almost a million people currently under 25 and out of work who are the main victims of this recession, a study by the Prince's Trust warns.
The young unemployed are already significantly less happy and confident – even about health, family relationships and friends – than those in work, it claims.
The extent to which feelings of lowered self-esteem permeate the lives of youths not in employment, education or training (so-called Neets) is revealed in a poll.
Conducted for The Prince's Trust, the YouGov Youth Index documents the psychological setbacks inflicted on 16 to 25-year-olds – including graduates and those with fewer qualifications – as they struggle to find jobs.
Unemployment currently stands at 2.49 million and latest projections are that it will peak this year at 2.8 million.
Unlike the severe recessions of the 1980s, which threw hundreds of thousands of industrial workers on to the scrapheap, this time around workforces and employers have proved more flexible in adapting working practices.
The result, according to Professor David Blanchflower, who contributed to the Prince's Trust report, has been that companies have saved money by halting recruitment.
Guardian