Young People and Coronavirus : Employment

 

Employment and Coronavirus

By Alex Guy

Employment for people of all ages has been drastically affected by Covid. However, youths are more likely to be in informal employment or forms of zero-hour contracts, making them more vulnerable to an economic downturn. Pre-Covid, British youths aged 15-24 were already three times more likely to be unemployed compared to adults, whilst 126 million young workers were in extreme and moderate poverty worldwide. The effects of Covid on employment levels can already be seen - in July 2020 537,700 people aged 16-24 claimed unemployment-related benefits, up 122% from March 2020 when the UK lockdown began. Moreover, new figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have revealed just how hard job losses have hit Cambridge, with figures published in June showing there was 3,335 people claiming unemployment – related benefits in Cambridge in May 2020, which marks 142% increase on March 2020 when the country went into lockdown.  Estimations indicate that of the billion young people globally who will enter the job market in the next decade only 40% are expected to find jobs if the market remains the same.

We can learn from the impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis which saw the number of youths not in employment, education or training rise to 18% and the number of unemployed young people increase by 20%, leaving one in eight young people (aged 18-25) in poverty. This can have significant impacts as young people with a history of unemployment face fewer career development opportunities, lower wage levels, poorer prospects for better jobs and ultimately lower pensions. So, the question is, what will happen to the 600 million young people that are expected to be unemployed over the next decade? 

If you need any help with any of the topics discussed in this series, please contact Citizens Advice. 

For more information: 

  https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/news/2020/05/covid-19/

  https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05871/

  https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/unemployment-cambridge-benefits-daniel-zeichner-18432623

  https://www.murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk/news/our-blogs/college-blog/tackling-youth-unemployment-were-missing-a-crucial-voice

  https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19-response-recovery-and-resilience-c40e61c6/

  https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19-response-recovery-and-resilience-c40e61c6/