Youth unemployment

Youth unemployment in the UK

Young people have suffered for a long period of time in finding jobs. This problem has spread widely in the UK and many young people are affected by the lack of jobs. According to the BBC (2014), numerous young unemployed people are feeling that they have no purposes or reasons to stay alive and think about suicide. It is believed that the lack of jobs may cause crimes and disruption in the country. This essay will consider the causes, effects and solutions of unemployment.

Unemployment is high amongst the youth in the UK and this often leads to them committing crimes. It is stated that young unemployed people are likely to commit crimes due to unawareness of the consequences. The youth have much more free time but are unaware of how to use it. Their ages also play a major role in the way that they think about life.  The BBC (2014) reports that the UK has a high number of unemployed people around 75,000, however, it is lowest level since 2009 according to the Office for National Statistics(ibid). There are many crimes that are associated with unemployment. Unemployed people might get depressed and start taking drugs. Their depression could get worse and cause them to commit suicide. The BBC (2014) said that ' Unemployed young people  there were more than twice as likely as their peers to hand been prescribe anti-depressed.

On the other hand, there are many effects on unemployed people due to having no jobs. Unemployment does have a serious effect on them and may lead to panic attacks. For instance, a man who is unemployed may become depressed because of worrying about money and due to drug use. If he is unemployed for a long time, he may start to steal from his partner in order to pay for drugs which could make him anxious and start becoming paranoid. This demonstrates how mental health can also be affected by unemployment. 

The best remedy to deal with unemployment would be to provide jobs with slightly lower salaries. this would be a good way for the long term unemployed to get back into a working environment. This would also be good for the country as more tax would be paid and less benefits would be received. The government also see a problem with immigrants from EU countries, they should introduce an exchange programme where UK citizens can go and work there. This could be good for citizens who have not thought about this as an option. The jobs in EU countries may be better suited to their skills and provide them with a valuable opportunity to change their lives. Although EU citizens have a right to employment in the UK, other countries do not. The UK should introduce more stringent laws to reduce immigration so that UK citizens have more job opportunities. 

Further opportunities that could be created include work placements. The government could work with different companies to provide short term and long term work experience. This will help those with little experience to gain valuable skills that are required in the workplace. The government has already starter the Youth Contract which is helping some young people to gain employment.

In conclusion, unemployment amongst the youth is a serious issue in the UK which causes problems such as crimes. This may have effects on households due to related issues including drug use. The best remedy to reduce the number of unemployed people would be to have rules that prevent immigrants from taking the jobs of local people. However, local people should show that they are willing to take these jobs and not just complain about it.

References ;

Sellgren, K. (2014) Young people 'feel they have nothing to live for'. Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25559089> Accessed at: (17th March 2014).