January 2010
Undiscovered: The Prince's
Trust YouGov Youth Index 2010
Unemployed young people could face a lifetime
of poorer health and lower happiness, warns a report published by
The Prince's Trust.
The Prince’s Trust YouGov Youth Index reveals that those out of
work are significantly less happy with their health, friendships
and family life than those in work. One in ten young people (11 per
cent) claim that unemployment drove them to drugs or alcohol.
According to the report, based on interviews with 2,088
16-to-25-year-olds, unemployed young people are also more likely to
feel ashamed, rejected and unloved more of the time. If trends
follow those of previous recessions, these can become permanent
psychological scars.
Leading economist Professor David Blanchflower
comments in the report:
Unemployment has a knock-on effect on a young
person's self-esteem, their emotional stability and overall
wellbeing. The longer the period a young person is unemployed for,
the more likely they are to experience this psychological
scarring.
He adds: “This means an unhappy and debilitated generation of
young people who – as a result – becomes decreasingly likely to
find work in the future.”
A quarter (25 per cent) of young people who are or have been
unemployed claim their joblessness caused arguments with parents or
other family.
More than a quarter (28 per cent) claim that unemployment caused
them to exercise less, with around one in six of those currently
out of work (17 per cent) getting no exercise at all.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of The
Prince’s Trust says:
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.
Fifteen per cent of young people across the country feel their
life lacks direction, with this figure increasing to 42 per cent
for those out of work. One in three unemployed young people (32 per
cent) feels down or depressed all or most of the time.
One in ten young people (10 per cent) 'rarely' or 'never' feels
loved, with this figure increasing to 15 per cent for those out of
work.
The research comes as youth charity The Prince’s Trust announces
its new “Undiscovered” campaign, reaching out to a generation of
young people whose talents and prospects have been dashed in the
recession.
The new campaign calls for Government, businesses and
individuals to help the charity raise £1m a week to support
unemployed and disadvantaged young people. More than three in four
young people on Prince’s Trust schemes move into work, training or
education.
Martina Milburn comments: “Young people bore the brunt of the
recession last year, with one in five 16-to-24-year-olds out of
work today. The result is a generation of undiscovered skills and
talents. We must invest in these young people, re-building their
self-esteem, to ensure that today’s unemployed do not become
tomorrow’s unemployable.”
This is the second year of The Prince’s Trust YouGov Youth
Index. It is the largest poll of its kind.