Why are so many young people out of work?
Posted by ikeafannypack@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 470 comments
Asking about this because it seems to be relatively commonplace. One of my relatives is in his early 20s and for the last 2 years has been unemployed, not working or in education. Doesn’t do any volunteering either or have any work experience. He’s now on UC and says he does go to some interviews but has had no success . I just don’t understand how someone can be unemployed for that long if they are actively looking for work, is the economy THAT bad?
Why is this such a growing issue amount young people, especially young men?
Electrical_Wall8926@reddit
I went in JD Sports with a mate and they had self checkouts. I was gobmacked. One person on a till, and 4 self check outs. That's technically 4 jobs for young folks out the window.
Equivalent_Word3952@reddit
Why get employees when the customer can do it. I always think no consumers, capitalism will fail yay 🎉
Grouchy_Conclusion45@reddit
It's more the issue that eventually the robot is cheaper than whatever the minimum wage and the associated employment taxes are raised to. We're now at that stage
Emergency_Writer159@reddit
I've got an unethical idea, what if we reduced minimum so much that they became cheaper than robots? None of us would survive but at least we won't be u employed right?
Asher-D@reddit
Or,a better solution would be to put such a massive tax on using robots instead that the human is cheaper.
hussain_madiq_small@reddit
So stop progress to give people meaningless jobs just for the sake of having them do something? At the companies expense too? I wonder why communism failed.
spaceprinceps@reddit
Without assurances of UBI this kind of progress is just a march to mass unemployment, it's not communism to want a job.
hussain_madiq_small@reddit
You literally proposed it as a better solution, if what you care about is ubi, then propose ubi as the better solution.
"it's not communism to want a job."
You think im against people wanting jobs? You think thats the point i was making?
spaceprinceps@reddit
Tax robots (like those self service tills) out of cost effectiveness isn't communism.
hussain_madiq_small@reddit
Where did i say it was? You keep ignoring what im saying as if you didnt say we should stop progress so people can have jobs that arent needed. That is a dumb thing to say, just take the L.
spaceprinceps@reddit
I'm losing an argument on the internet oof my ego
ItsFuckingScience@reddit
Good point, let’s disincentivise all robotic use and go back to humans manually doing all the jobs
Get humans back on factory production lines, cars, aviation, high end industrial and medical equipment,
Let’s sew our clothing by hand
It will be an economic revolution!
spaceprinceps@reddit
This, but unironically
Emergency_Writer159@reddit
That won't stop them from subcontracting the work out to overseas where the robots can be relocated 💀 people offshore work for less than minimum wage all the time.
oh-my-dog@reddit
He's joking. There's no way that comment isn't satire. Nobody is that fucking stupid.
Jonny_rhodes@reddit
I read an article the other day saying that the cost of licences for some ai platforms is too high for some companies now, one company was ditching the ai licences and hiring 7 new staff for one sector of the business. It didn’t specify what the job was but even a minimum wage data entry job is still going to humans rather than ai so that’s a positive
Huffle-my-puff@reddit
Why are we taking minimum wage jobs in AI knowing that we are going to be made redundant by these bastards soon? Let’s try to be smart and get a huge pay check guys and also slow the AI boom down as much as we can
Grouchy_Conclusion45@reddit
Or how about some deflationary pressure instead, which is what we need. Eventually it'll be £40 for a burger and chips at this rate
ItsFuckingScience@reddit
Funny because companies becoming more efficient and saving costs through technology is deflationary yet people hate it 🤣
Emergency_Writer159@reddit
They're saving costs but the prices ain't going down and the profits are being distributed overseas and going round in circles then back to the British Virgin Islands 💀
OGBrianPeppers@reddit
What happens after capitalism fails exactly?
spaceprinceps@reddit
Soylent Green
Awkward_Aioli_124@reddit
We eat each other
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
Soylent Green.
scotiaboy10@reddit
Fascism
thegreekideal@reddit
After the revolution the state will employ us all as streamers and poets /s
Saltypeon@reddit
Capitalism 2.0, a true split between the have and have nots. Down a line and for everything.
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
It eats itself.
marsman@reddit
The other side of that is that you now need techs to manage the till systems, and other higher skill jobs to support all of that. There are fewer jobs initially, but they are of a higher quality and drive higher productivity. That's sort of what we want, a shift away from low labour cost, high labour intensity roles, to higher productivity and higher skilled, better quality roles. We've obviously seen that happen many, many times historically (from the agricultural revolution, through the industrial ones, out to the information/digital one) but its never particularly straight forward or easy, and can be undermined by businesses hoping to lean on cheap labour, rather than investment and innovation.
OurSeepyD@reddit
Obviously there's a lot in between these things, but surely we want a world where people don't have to do mundane jobs, right? Wouldn't it be better if everything was more efficient and people then got the extra time off?
Suspicious_Flower_0@reddit
In a perfect world where there's UBI and you're not "forced" to work if you're happy with the bare minimum, sure.
But as it is, it's just forcing young people into UC and missing a critical part of their growing by not learning basic work skills, work place etiquette
MissingScore777@reddit
UBI can only succeed if we tax the equivalent they would pay in wages but are saving with AI.
And rich, powerful people are not going to let that happen.
bitesizejasmine@reddit
We need to start insisting it will happen.
an1uk@reddit
We effectively already have UBI. Workers get a tax free allowance. The unemployed get Universal Credit. Remove the requirement to seek work from UC and you effectively have UBI under alternative names.
QVRedit@reddit
It means that use of AI would have to be taxed - to generate the income, to pay the people who would otherwise be employed…
MissingScore777@reddit
Yes that's exactly what I just said
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
Difficult when there’s no work.
Conor2704@reddit
It's a lovely thought, but corporation / business tax is nowhere near enough to pay for universal basic income which is what you'd need to do to make than possible. Because people aren't getting time off, they're losing jobs, or jobs are not being replaced.
bitesizejasmine@reddit
That's impossible. There's enough wealth. It exists. What about like liquidating the monarchy.
OurSeepyD@reddit
I think this is a big reason for governments to try to reduce hours in a standard work week, and for the same pay. If companies become 25% more efficient, then they can cut down people's hours by 20% and have the same level of efficiency. It's obviously not this trivial, but something along these lines needs to happen.
Vasquerade@reddit
In theory it would be nice to make AI do the labour so humans could make the art. Sadly, we have the exact opposite.
roxieh@reddit
Not when you bring taxation into it. Lost jobs from automation that aren't replaced is a loss of earnings for the individual and tax revenue for the government.
QVRedit@reddit
Yet we never get there…
ServerLost@reddit
That high concept doesn't pay anybody's rent though does it.
OurSeepyD@reddit
I'm suggesting that we find ways to still get these people money, whether that's through employing more people by spreading hours across multiple people, e.g. a four day work week for the same pay, or through something like UBI.
Companies won't do this out of the good of their own hearts, governments needs to step up.
Particular-Effect-83@reddit
Couldn’t their time be better spent helping society in some way. I.e the 5th day is some kind of government job?
OurSeepyD@reddit
I think that should be up to them, but that would be nice if people were keen to do so. We shouldn't force people to fill their time with other jobs if they're not needed.
nospellingerorrs@reddit
In theory yes, but I dont hold out much hope for humanity carrying out the societal reorganisation needed to make it happen.
Companies will cut costs as machines and AI take more of our jobs. Wealth will funnel upwards as people continue to be replaced by machines that dont need salaries or days off. This will continue until enough people are out of work to force civil unrest unless there is redistribution of wealth.
I really do worry about what will happen over the next few decades.
AFriendlyBeagle@reddit
That's the tension, yeah.
Ultimately, we shouldn't want for people to labour needlessly - it's a waste of their time, and the time wasted could be spent doing something more interesting or productive.
But also, the economic system and configuration that we have is such that the class of worker that'd usually occupy such positions lose out as the gains from their displacement are largely privatised.
Potential-Ad-6552@reddit
That sounds lovely. The problem is these jobs aren't being replaced and are usually the gateway jobs for younger workers to get some experience on their CVs. It is absolutely lousy job hunting lately. It's very expensive to recruit staff now, so companies don't want to take a chance on someone anymore. Either you have experience in their specific field or you won't get hired; transferable skills are of little interest lately.
Ok-Cake9431@reddit
Agree - but the economy isn’t set up for it. So at the moment, it’s just “no job”.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
JD sports pay minimum wage and practically no other retailer does
They are also incredibly abusive to young staff which is a well known fact to all young people across the uk
an1uk@reddit
Nearly all businesses are like this. It's what happens when you pay the managers something silly like 10p per hour more than the minimum wage staff.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
I’m a manager being paid 20p more than the minimum wage staff I can confirm
Then_Care@reddit
JD Sports keep listing fake job offers too. It’s either them or a company pretending to be them
Plus_Band_3283@reddit
Companies do thag on purpose to keep their employees scared. A guy on TikTok, so take with salt, said his whole job was putting up jobs that didn’t exist. He knew others that did the same job for other companies.
QVRedit@reddit
Apparently 50% of job ads are fake !
eggplant_avenger@reddit
a good part of my job is putting up job postings for positions that are already filled. they might even do a few interviews, but basically it’s only there for compliance reasons
QVRedit@reddit
Compliance ? - How does that even make any sense ?
Huffle-my-puff@reddit
Because then they have advertised officially for the job, either found a “suitable candidate” internally that they were already knew they were hiring or advertised it and not “found a suitable candidate” and now roles can be restructured or made redundant or automated or sent off shore etc but on paper they have created a trail that looks like that’s what actually happened if someone reads it or investigates it but everyone knows the truth.
an1uk@reddit
I've heard of this being done with taglines like "due to increasing demand" to try and make it seem like the company is popular, as almost like an advertisement for the company and its product.
im_just_called_lucy@reddit
That practice needs to be illegal, it’s so scummy.
I don’t know how job listings would have to prove they’re real or how that would be legally punishable but it needs to be illegal. Fake job listings are often data fishing as well, getting the contact and personal info of potential “hires” to sell it off to scammers.
QVRedit@reddit
Apparently some companies do it, so that people think they are doing better than they really are…
Infernode5@reddit
Why would an employee be scared that their company has job listings?
Surely it's a good sign that the business is doing well and hiring (assuming the listing is real)?
QVRedit@reddit
That’s one of the reasons why they post fake jobs - to make people think the company is doing better than it really is doing…
TheLittleSquire@reddit
Doesn't really work that way. Public companies have to release their yearly and quarterly audited results. I think what you've said, has been been said by a bunch of people with no clear evidence behind it.
ReputationApart5983@reddit
We had a store manager at a Sainsburys local years ago and they kept posting his job online for that store to sort of keep him in line. He ended up having a nervous breakdown. They knew what they were doing, it was so he didnt ask for a higher wage. I remember he was getting something ridiculously low like 3 pounds extra an hour and our store was in a popular part of London with a weekly turn over of more than 1 million pounds a week.
QVRedit@reddit
That’s disgraceful behaviour by the senior management. And should be grounds for him to claim against them.
Formal-Apartment7715@reddit
HR Recruitment is just so bad that it takes months to get someone in post... I'm obviously talking about my experience in large public organisations vs private...
ReputationApart5983@reddit
A lot of people do that to harvest people info and sell it on. Now not for much but they harvest that shit on many job sites in many locations and in many languages.
Entire_Nerve_1335@reddit
You can always tell when people with no experience of working in any industry have opinions on industry lol
VOOLUL@reddit
That makes zero sense. I'd be more scared if my company has zero job listings.
CandyPink69@reddit
Strange take. I’d see it as they have good employee retention. If I see the same company constantly advertising then it puts me off
myphonebatterysucks@reddit
I don’t believe “a guy on TikTok” is doing that for a second… that’s exactly the kind of work they’d get AI to do.
appletinicyclone@reddit
We're at this weird middle phase where it's clear automation is displacing stuff and so is AI but we don't want to do the hard work to transition
In China (yes yes it has many negatives, and I hate what they've done in tibet to the uighurs and on hong kong) the bigger concern is not job loss (they've got legal protections against ai based dismissal or pay cuts) but adapting to the tech to stay relevant. They're worried about how to integrate it not lose jobs because of it.
This is completely different in the uk which is more clear about job losses to ai and doesn't have some of these protections.
We are waiting for the job firing rather than significantly up killing existing workforce and new entrants to use AI appropriately
Simple example why isn't remote work still king?
We could with ai and remote work and the inevitable data center builds create a spine of new non London infrastructure up and down the country and revitalise railway tributaries and more.
We could go full solar punk and actually create and architect interesting environmentally integrated cities
But oh the commercial real estate and cafes so we can't
That's the challenge
suiluhthrown78@reddit
Thats what happens when the minimum wage is raised bigly every single year, its cheaper to get a machine in than pay the employee a higher wage + employer NI costs which also keep going up + pension contributions
Electrical_Wall8926@reddit
I found a payslip from my first job this week after a clear out, and I had been on £4.92!
Potential-Living-676@reddit
£3.50 working in Marks and sparks.
Selpmis@reddit
I think it was £3.43 for my first job when I was 16/17.
Milita_leorio@reddit
5.18 my first job at dominos. I went up to 5.68 after a year and thought i was balling lol
marsman@reddit
Which is generally a good thing, it means companies invest in reducing labour intensity, that money supports the companies that design, build, service, maintain and sell those machines. It's like arguing that it was better when people went and scythed wheat rather than using a combine, because it meant you had more people doing the work, realistically you were just less productive and didn't build an economy that could support the combine..
pr2thej@reddit
Alternatively billionaires could just not get as rich
suiluhthrown78@reddit
what billionaires are getting rich off retail
TimmmV@reddit
I was working as a teenager at Tescos back in 2006 or something and they were first bringing in self checkouts. It's not because of minimum wage rises, its the fact they can have 2 or 3 members of staff covering multiple tills and have customers scan their own shopping. That is always gonna be cheaper than employing multiple people on checkouts regardless of minimum wage.
suiluhthrown78@reddit
They were still expensive back then the cost compared now it's a no brainer for businesses to do it
turtleship_2006@reddit
Technically 3 gone, 4 staffed tills -> 4 self checkouts with one staff is 3 less people
RubberDucky882@reddit
Why hire a human with higher minimum wage, higher NI to pay and now employees rights bill.
360Saturn@reddit
I've spoken about before the expectation of jobs too. Watch an old movie like 9 to 5 and one of the character's sole job all day that she earned enough to rent an apartment and save up a deposit with was to be on duty for when someone needed photocopying done, and photocopy things when a request came through.
These days something like that would be a tiny part among many other duties all done by the same administrator who's probably on minimum wage!
Subject_Finger_9876@reddit
Everywhere is hiring. I worked at Costco. I understand the whole self checkout argument but everyone including all the landscape business including myself are looking for people and no one wants a job.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
Wrong. Nowhere is hiring, everywhere is advertising. I’ve worked in managerial positions for these sorts of companies and anyone who is just a team member will assume we’re hiring because we’re advertising but we’re not, we’re just forced to put ads out by the big bosses. It’s just data farming.
Subject_Finger_9876@reddit
You work managerial position for McDonald’s? I’m not talking about big tech bro.
Not wrong I’m hiring. I am hiring for my business. No one wants to work. My starting pay for cutting lawns is $25. I live in Michigan in a low col area. Most don’t even show up for their first day.
TheSax92@reddit
But this is a thread talking about the UK not the USA... Different place different people... different culture both in and out of work
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
I’ve never worked for McDonald’s what are you talking about
You’re in MICHIGAN
This is a sub about the uk and the uk job market what does America have to do with OUR job market? Obviously it’s going to be different
twitchydinosaur@reddit
Self checkouts arent stealing jobs. You rarely just get someone who is purely a checkout operator. It just gives them more time to help customers/restock etc. I hate this outrage over nothing. There always has to be someone manning the self checkouts anyway.
Fit_Importance_5738@reddit
Respectfully disagree, you see the people that these machines replaced are all ready gone and it is only getting worse.
Gone are the days you can focus on a task and move onto the next, these days it's constant interruptions and ever increasing work load and thye reward hard work with by reducing your hours.
hsbdjkaybwjdys@reddit
You ok ?
Rossco1874@reddit
There wouldn't be 4 people on a till if the self service tills weren't there.
JD sports in my town doesnt have them and is only ever one person on a till not 5.
The shop has 1 till person, few on shop floor, some in back store and dealing with click and collect orders so about 6 staff roughly.
What you are claiming is if your local store didn't have self service it would have 10 staff which is simply not true.
HobNob_Pack@reddit
You can get a job repairing them. No qualifications needed and the starting wage is 30 - 35k
Tao626@reddit
This implies that they would have 4 people constantly on 4 actual tills when from my experience, they have nobody on the tills until a customer is waiting at them. At that point, "somebody" will come over. Then they fuck off back to what they were doing.
Feels very much like the people who leave trolleys all over the place quoting "I'm keeping somebody in work!", as though somebody is employed specifically just to do that and isn't just an extra thing somebody has to do on top of what they're already doing.
Emotional_Butterf1y@reddit
Government keeps putting up minimum wage and companies can’t afford to pay it.
Minimum wage wouldn’t need to be as high if the cost of living wasn’t so expensive. And cost of living is so expensive due to energy prices being high due to the imbecile Ed Miliband, and the idiot Kier giving all our money to foreign counties.
VerbingNoun413@reddit
!pow 3 Politics
cmsmk@reddit
Blame corporate greed for energy prices. Marginal pricing means that they get to base the price off of the highest cost source.
GlitchingGecko@reddit
In some cases, because people are working past retirement age because of CoL, so there are less jobs freeing up.
There was an article earlier this year about Welsh Paramedics who are just graduating this year being told there are ZERO jobs available for them in Wales, because too many older paramedics are staying on past the usual age.
lifetypo10@reddit
One of my friends is a teacher at a local university and she says it's similar for dental hygienists, there's a waiting list to sign up for the uni course and even when all the graduates leave uni, there's no jobs for them.
Chunk3yM0nkey@reddit
There was definitely a shortage of NHS dentists but I don't remember ever hearing about hygienists being in short supply.
Direct-Key-8859@reddit
The worse thing about that healthcare students who study in Wales get massive fines for not working in Wales 3 years after graduating. They cant even work after graduating now
Okhlahoma_Beat-Down@reddit
I hope they refuse to pay those fines. That's absolutely fucking psychotic.
Isn't the government still capping how many UK-trained doctors and medical staff can be hired?
ttt1987@reddit
The government has never capped how many UK-trained staff can be hired. There certainly have been local recruitment freezes and financial controls in some NHS trusts that have made it incredibly hard to get hired, but that is very different from a national legal cap on hiring UK-trained medical staff.
zeddy123456@reddit
This is definitely part of it. I work in a small store with ~20 staff members and I'm the youngest by 5 years to one person then another 5 years to the next. At least half the store is over 40. There just aren't many openings for young people when even the "easy" jobs are difficult to get into.
opaqueentity@reddit
Also with that there’s a great need but they aren’t willing/able to create those new jobs either. Same everywhere
Chunk3yM0nkey@reddit
You mean like delivering pizza etc? There's exclusively Indian blokes doing that now.
Working in the local coffee shop? The bloke that got the job there at 19 is still there 15 years later.
Working the counter at the local sainsbury? Half the jobs are gone from self checkout and the other people are all middle aged and have been there for 10+ years.
Work at any of the local petrol stations? Theyre owned by indians and they only employ indians.
Working at the local pub? The same 4 people have worked there since before I could drink.
chennypear@reddit
My daughters 21 , on uc for 2 years now. Applied for many jobs and got nowhere.
lmaye25@reddit
My advice to any young person, even if they are mainly wanting a graduate or “proper” job, is to go and do a seasonal workaway job like a ski season, or work somewhere like the Isles of Scilly or Channel Islands. The confidence boost of doing something new, being away from home and networking with other young people would really help
Casshern080@reddit
Don't you usually have to pay for that? Seen adverts on working abroad in like Australia but its like pay x fee
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
Been there done that got a degree, a masters degree and doing my PHD. I’ve been volunteering at least once a week since the age of 7, I’m a fully qualified chef, I’m a qualified beautician and I’ve worked in retail and hospitality (+ a police training course) since I was 13 and I’ve been a manager in every job I’ve had since 16
I still don’t get responses from the hundreds of jobs I’ve applied for with my varied CVs
littleboo2theboo@reddit
Where in the UK are you based? This sounds crazy
Casshern080@reddit
Currently out of work myself and it's honestly so bad trying to get work.
Applied to savers, got email, we went back and forth about a good time to call, this was on a friday, and they asked me if they can call on monday said yes at x time.
Never received the call waited 30 minutes before sending an email to the person I was in contacts with and they never got back to me. And then couple of days later I get a generic rejection email.
Balodifanio@reddit
He doesn’t sound very employable
Would be surprised if he found a job
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
I do feel it’s one of those things where you have to try to help yourself. Not sure why you wouldn’t volunteer somewhere just to get some experience down to give yourself a leg up…🤷♀️
mizzmi@reddit
Because volunteer experience does absolutely nothing to expand our opportunities in this day and age.
Grouchy_Conclusion45@reddit
Indeed but at least you contribute something to society instead of sitting at home waiting. Never know too, might meet someone doing it or make new contacts etc. I don't think it's fair to say it does nothing and only it will never do anything
mizzmi@reddit
What does society contribute to me? Nothing. It expects me to bleed myself dry for them while they sit there making shitty posts about why so many young people don’t work!
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
I mean no offense here but if you're unemployed and claiming benefits, society is contributing to you in a big way. And if you aren't claiming benefits, society is paying taxes for services that you likely use.
mizzmi@reddit
Oh you do mean offence but that’s fine. I did my job and I was fucking good at it, my employers took advantage of that and pushed me to work 12 hour shifts behind the bar with little to no help from my adult, male supervisor who was earning much more than i was, to the point where I was left with permanent nerve damage in my shoulder at 22 years old. Which causes me agony daily and has done throughout the past 2 years. So yeah, i’ll happily take my benefits and still say society contributes nothing to me. Nobody is paying my for my benefits or services paid for by taxes because they want to, correct? As I said, every human for themselves.
itsajourney2020@reddit
Your employer was terrible and took advantage, and now the rest of society gives you money. I'm happy my taxes do, I genuinely do want my money to go towards you.
Society does contribute to you.
mizzmi@reddit
Technically they do, but not because they want to. They don’t contribute because they care, and all I get for being someone who exists and claims disability benefits is shit and insults. I wouldn’t say that’s very supportive or contributive of society.
itsajourney2020@reddit
I just said I want to and that I care.
How enthusiastic should people be about being taxed to support strangers?
mizzmi@reddit
The amount of people who talk shit about people like me vastly outweigh the odd person who actually has something nice to say. So while I absolutely appreciate your kindess, it’s hard to focus on in the bigger picture. I didn’t say they should be enthusiastic, but the least they could do is not dog pile and belittle us because of it. I didn’t choose the system and I didn’t choose to be injured. I hate a benefits scrounger as much as the next person, I see people who think UC is an easy way to life and never even attempt to find the ambition to do more, it feels horrible being lumped in with them as if I haven’t always tried and continued to try even when i’ve been knocked down repeatedly.
itsajourney2020@reddit
I really feel for you, but you're lumping yourself in because you were perhaps judgemental before becoming reliant
mizzmi@reddit
Im not lumping myself in with anything, Im literally telling you I see people frequently talk shit about people on UC and PIP, completely disregarding why they are and acting as if we are all the same. I also wasn’t judgemental about anything “before becoming reliant” Read what i’ve said. Literally grew up being abused and neglected and was thrown into care and had to fend for myself. I automatically got UC when i turned 18 because i grew up in care.
itsajourney2020@reddit
You have no idea about what I've experienced actually.
It sounds like everyone in your life failed you so the state looked after you as a child, then immediately started funding you as an adult too. Yet you want more and don't feel like society contributes to you. Ok.
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
Take it how you want, I didnt mean offense but if you want to have a chip on your shoulder, thats fine.
mizzmi@reddit
No, I have permanent nerve damage in my shoulder! You’d know that if you took 2 seconds to read what I said instead of immediately rejecting what I said simply because it’s not what you want to hear ☺️
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
I'm sorry you had a terrible time at your job and I'm sorry you're in pain but it's an objective truth - society is contributing in a big way to you by funding you through benefits.
mizzmi@reddit
You’re entitled to that opinion, my reality is that society has taken from me over and over and I’ve honestly never seen any sort of pay off from allowing it to happen.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
You’ve never seen any sort of pay off? What about the £350 a month you get from taxpayers money? I’m sorry about your pain, but you seem very entitled. Do you just plan not to work for the rest of your life because of it?
mizzmi@reddit
You’ve decided to ignore everything i’ve said already. I’m not gonna waste my time re explaining myself to someone who simply just doesn’t want to understand or look at anything with a different perspective.
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
If you do get into a position to work, ask at the jobcentre about GFiE schemes (Going Forward Into Employment) - they have pathways for care leavers to help them get into the Civil Service, and might be able to be flexible/look at specialised equipment.
mizzmi@reddit
I am aware, thank you but no thank you.
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
Okay, well I hope everything works out for you
mizzmi@reddit
Thank you :)
antonio_cool@reddit
You seem nice lol
mizzmi@reddit
Eh, I don’t care about how I seem to meaningless strangers on the internet
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
Exactly.. why do people expect others to pay for them and just refuse to contribute when they can. Who do they think is paying for their nhs and UC, completely selfish, in my opinion.
mizzmi@reddit
My work coach literally has to tell me to not look for and apply for work because I shouldn’t be, I do regardless because I want to work. Accuse someone else of being selfish and not wanting to contribute whatsoever, cus that’s not me.
Grouchy_Conclusion45@reddit
Jeez, imagine if everyone took that attitude. There'd be no society and without a functioning society, there wouldn't be that much food to go around for a start
mizzmi@reddit
I have this attitude because i’ve lived a very difficult life and still come out on the other side. I’m actually quite nice and open minded but people are going to assume things about my personality as if they know me just because they don’t like my opinion, and that’s fine. But it’s much more anger at the truth than it is a reflection of me.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
That’s not really true. I’ve got various jobs partly because of my experience as it gave me something to talk about in the interview🤷♀️
Honourandapenis@reddit
How old are you compared to your 20 year old nephew?
mizzmi@reddit
Oh right, sorry. I forgot my experience doesn’t exist just because yours was different. LOL, my bad!
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
Could say the same about yours… my bad!
mizzmi@reddit
Yet you’re the one attempting to contradict me. Interesting.
Otherwise-Tie-9055@reddit
When I was made redundant I rang an agency the same day
Suspicious_Flower_0@reddit
Sign up to an agency and you'll likely have something in days.
It won't be glamorous or easy work, but it's money
mizzmi@reddit
I’ve been signed up to an agency since the middle of last year and have received absolutely 0 job opportunities that didn’t require specific college qualifications that i do not have.
caryl1111@reddit
you tryin to chase them up? singing up to agency alone does f*** all except you have lots of qualifications, same time you call for a job theres another 10 people on the line , imagine how many people they register through single day , let alone weeks,months , in my expierence you need to be calling in and keep asking if anything has come up. Otherwise....
mizzmi@reddit
What, the agency that literally said “you don’t need to contact us, we will send you anything that is available” ? Huh. Interesting! Also, read my other comments, the government literally says I do not have to work ☺️ The fact I look for work is optional and based entirely on wether or not i will be capable of the work. Which is not an opportunity I have come across yet.
Suspicious_Flower_0@reddit
Why the smug face that the Government says you don't have to look for work? Do you think you're better than people who have to work to live?
We can't all grift the taxpayer, someone has to pay for you.
mizzmi@reddit
Are you missing the part where i explicitly specified that i want to work and always have?
Suspicious_Flower_0@reddit
Every single person I've ever met who's been on the long term sick/UC has expressed a willingness to work and always have.
Just their unicorn job where they earn £1000 a week for 3 hours work has never come up and they're holding out for that. Why degrade yourself with a 9-5 when you can get people who do work 9-5 to pay your way for you
caryl1111@reddit
yes... agency tells you that but reality not how it works, also try to sign up to quite a few of them at once, best thing to also to do is check indeed, and instead of applying online , call the agency and go through them on phone ( thats if the job is posted by agency ) .
Well if you have to work or not thats different story now and thats your decision ,
mizzmi@reddit
Indeed isn’t good for shit and everybody knows that. Stop giving me useless advice
opaqueentity@reddit
Oh you wish it was that easy
dinkidoo7693@reddit
Employers want people who have 10 years experience for basic minimum wage jobs.
They don’t want to train people.
They want people who can come in and get on with it.
Obvious_Compote1025@reddit
Can’t blame them
comrade333@reddit
Of course you can. How is someone going to get a first job if everyone wants experience?
Obvious_Compote1025@reddit
That’s not the companies problem
ttt1987@reddit
White knighting for companies who don't care about you is so weird man.
Yeah it's not their problem at all. It's just everyone else, society as a whole, who has to deal with the effects. But as long as le companies are happy that's okay right?
Traditional_Prize632@reddit
I remember applying to do a level 2 chef apprenticeship, a few months ago, for a pub chain. They rejected me for not having any restaurant experience. Either it was that, or they rejected me because of my disability.
JurassicM4rc@reddit
I have about 4 years experience working in kitchens and got rejected for a part time kitchen job at Wetherspoon's last week. The advert even said no experience was required as all training is provided.
IDKBear25@reddit
Innit fuckwits.
Lazy_Tac@reddit
That or a PhD and 10 years experience in a field that’s only been around for 5, for entry level wages
ShakeNBakeUK@reddit
my personal favourite is 3 degree's worth of skillsets rolled into a single role 😃
ShakeNBakeUK@reddit
bcos they now have to pay almost £13 per hour, so ppl gotta earn their keep. min wage rise has been a disaster for young people out of work before it came into effect (but good for those in work, i guess?)
Awkward_Aioli_124@reddit
When you are working with less people than is needed its important that everyone can get on with it, there's no slack to carry a newbie until they are trained. With nmw increases companies are employing the bare minimum numbers
MeMuzzta@reddit
A few years ago I was applying for admin jobs, after an interview for one of them they sent me a rejection email stating that I had all the experience they required except for some niche software that I've never heard of before that they used.
I was like ffs are you for real.
DevelopmentGold2086@reddit
exactly this, i work part time retail whilst studying at uni and a girl got rejected for not having done retail before- it was for 8 hours a week on minimum wage. its just plain laziness on the companies part
Diligent_Explorer717@reddit
Many are on Universal Credit, it’s effectively free money. If they live with their parents and don’t pay rent, why work?
TotallyRandomUser__@reddit
How much do think UC is
kbkvvuknklnni8888@reddit
It's like 500 quid a month. Which isn't that bad if you're living off your parents.
Substantial_Bus5687@reddit
UK has had effectively zero growth for more than a decade, couple that with lack of investments and rising costs, businesses either fold or cut jobs. If you think this is pretty bad already, wait til the real crisis hits.
Fantastic-Cell-208@reddit
There is low demand for workers.
It's that simple
Desperate_Dinner_307@reddit
It's not young people being lazy. Nobody is recruiting. I know someone who's 21 and been applying for dozens of jobs this year and hasn't even got an interview. Uni graduates are struggling to find any kind of work also.
I think it's a combo of factors. The number of companies going out of business on a daily basis here in the UK (dozens of pubs and bars a day), the rise in minimum wage for 18-21 year olds, the rise in national insurance for companies, the use of AI or automation like self service checkouts (my local Sainsburys is entirely self serve checkouts except the tobacco kiosk), or companies just being flat broke and can't afford to hire so existing employees are taking on extra workload.
The media are quick to call the youth lazy but if you're a single person with no kids, you get just £400 a month. Can guarantee young people are not happy living on that.
New_Line4049@reddit
Its becoming much more common. The entry level jobs that would traditionally have been great for younger people are the ones most commonly being replaced entirely with automation. Just take a walk around the tills at a supermarket and see how many are actually staffed by an employee now.
More generally, there are more people looking for work than their are jobs, which means employers can be picky about who they take, and has lead to the entry positions there are being filled by people who would previously hsve been considered over qualified. Those people are unable to move upwards due to lack of vacant positions above them, or lack of experience/qualifications to get accepted into those positions that do exist. That means that those entry level positions that do still exist arent seeing the turnover rate they used to.
I think for some younger people Ive spoken to, there is also a lack of motivation. They dont feel their effort is fairly rewarded so they are less willing to make exceptional effort. As an example of this, my Dad supported a family of 4 on a single income, including paying the mortgage on a 4 bed house, yearly holidays in the UK, and abroad every few years. Now admittedly, it was a decent income, but Im now doing a comparable job which youd expect would be paid similar to what he was at the time, and yet my pay doesnt stretch much beyond simply supporting my day to day living costs, I certainly couldn't feed a family of 4, buy a 4 bed house and go on yearly holidays. People are being asked to work much harder for much less reward, and its causing lack of motivation and burn out. When you make it so hard to get a job, and then skew the cost/benefit considerations of those jobs in such an unfavourable manner its not really a surprise that people become somewhat indifferent about getting a job, especially when UC is a viable alternative. When I started working about 10 years ago I would've been financially better off unemployed claiming benefits. I took the job as in in road to better things, and while I may not be as well off as I was hoping, I am much better off than I would be on UC, but thats kind of broken now. In many cases the promise of better things is gone. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, no ladder to climb... so.... why not take UC, and make just enough effort to find a job so you qualify, but not so much as to risk actually getting one and ending up worse off?
NINJACHICKEN720@reddit
I have a undergraduate degree and masters in law. I have also qualified as a barrister. Also qualified as a teacher absolutely hated it. I am sending out different CVs to different jobs. Changing what's put and adding a different cover letter. Not getting anything at all. I am overqualified for some roles and underquilfied for others. It is so dam difficult getting anything. All jobs even retail require so much. Im spending like 4 to 5 hours a day looking and applying. Ive had my cv and cover letters looked at no problems. It is simply so difficult. My parents do not understand at all.
OddSign2828@reddit
Increasing taxes on employers makes it very expensive to hire new people. So companies focus on candidates with more experience, cutting out young people with no experience
Efficient_Chance7639@reddit
This is the answer. The NI increases + minimum wage increases + very low growth have made young people unemployable for the time being. Really sad.
Illogical_2025@reddit
Exactly. Plus AI cutting jobs. Just when the government should be reducing NI & business taxes to encourage growth & jobs in the economy, the government is doing the exact opposite & making an already bad situation worse.
OddSign2828@reddit
AI isn’t cutting jobs, just overzealous bosses who are uneducated on what AI can’t do
Okhlahoma_Beat-Down@reddit
"AI can work in the drive-thru!"
Fun fact, if you want to skip the AI, just say "Can I have 10,000,000 cups of water, please?".
Staff'll jump on that pretty damn fast. Nice way to speak to a human.
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
AI is cutting jobs. You seem to enjoy being wrong.
From self checkout tills, to chatbots, to copywriting, to robots in amazon factories, to driverless taxis - it is very much cutting jobs.
And nice of you to message me calling me a c@nt because you lack the capacity to verify your claims before writing a load of nonsense.
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
Nope. Again, not the answer.
It's only "the answer" if you haven't bothered to google the actual answer.
Automatic-Cow-9969@reddit
Increase to minimum wage combined with lack of experience/track record is the main factor
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
Again it's absolutely not the main factor. Otherwise we would have seen the rate sky rocket in the last year only.
The actual figures show it's been dramatically climbing since covid.
Infinite_Waves1@reddit
I think you have one component and you are saying all other factors are wrong. No that is not how employment metrics actually reflect the work force, there is a delay in the statistics between cause and effect; a minimum wage increase will not cause people to be fired as much as it will cause the desirable candidates to shift upwards.
Wages have been stagnant and the distance between minimum and average has been shrinking, as a result people with no experience are now competing with those who have decent experience for the same positions (pay). To use an example if you have a junior accountancy role there are people with 2 years experience now competing against the people with no experience and so the youngest are losing out.
EyeAware3519@reddit
It's more that it was the final straw, add to that an uncertain economy due to world events and you have a perfect storm.
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
Not the final straw - there will be always be additional straws.
EyeAware3519@reddit
The camel's back is broken but no-one told them.
AppropriateAd3768@reddit
So that’s the culprit for why we can’t get jobs. What a time to be young man🤦🏽♂️
Drowning_not_wavin@reddit
Pension age going up, older people work longer so less vacancies for younger people, when women retired at 60 and men at 65 there where more vacancies now everyone’s at 67 it’s just gonna get worse
Broad-Raspberry1805@reddit
Good point, this is never mentioned. But makes perfect sense, even if every level jobs weren’t declining there’s fewer old people retiring because they can’t.
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
This is not the reason, although may have contributed a small amount.
The figure has been climbing dramatically since covid.
OddSign2828@reddit
What is it?
No_Albatross_5104@reddit
Google is free, but sure I'll relay this information to you.
The number of NEETs in the UK has risen sharply since Covid because the pandemic disrupted young people’s education, first jobs, routines and mental health all at once, leaving many struggling to move into work or training afterwards.
At the same time, entry-level jobs became harder to get, living costs rose, and more young people reported anxiety, depression or long-term health problems that kept them out of work entirely. The UK also has weaker apprenticeship and vocational pathways than many European countries, so people who do not follow the university route often have fewer stable alternatives, leading to more young adults becoming economically inactive rather than simply unemployed.
ahoneybadger3@reddit
But isn't there incentives purely aimed at hiring young people to circumvent that?
Namely grants and national insurance exemptions for under 21's.
SlowRs@reddit
Under 21 isn’t that young though really, that’s someone fresh out of uni exempt and they have never worked a job
OddSign2828@reddit
Only goes so far when minimum wage is also increasing.
Various_Building_810@reddit
I think a huge, overlooked reason why so many young people can’t find work right now is that they aren’t just competing against other young people anymore.
Between the brutal cost of living, wages stalling, and rent prices going through the roof, the whole job market has shifted.
You’ve got older workers forced to take on second jobs in retail and hospitality just to pay the bills, and you’ve got people who usually would have 'aged out' of those roles by now stuck working them indefinitely because they can't afford to take a risk or move up.
It’s created this massive bottleneck, leaving the younger generation completely locked out of the entry-level jobs that are supposed to get them started.
pbzeppelin1977@reddit
State pension age rising also keeps people in jobs longer.
obscureoregano@reddit
Nail on the head. Graduates, and experienced people can’t get jobs/careers so are doing the ‘entry level’ retail/hospitality jobs that would usually be done by 16-20 year olds
DedadatedRam@reddit
The old way doesn't work anymore, you can't just hand your CV in and expect a call. I resorted to using agency's during Covid, very menial work, warehouse, postal sorting, cleaning etc.. much better than living of UC though. Now I've been a cook for 5 years, not really what I planned to do but I enjoy it and the pay is decent.
Important-Tea0@reddit
We’re applying, but not getting hired. Even if we have years of experience already. We don’t know either.
LOUIS_KEWLZ@reddit
I’ve had bouts of long unemployment, although I’m nearly 25 now.
There are many reasons but I think it’s mostly the job market sucks right now. In my case, I live in a village with very poor public transport. Driving lessons have become super expensive, I need a job to drive, and I need to drive to work. Catch 22.
More career based jobs want people with years of experience, or they want to employ someone with no experience for a ridiculously low salary. One time I was unemployed for 8 months. Applied for 200 jobs. Heard back from 1 or 2. Bare in mind I have lots of previous work experience and didn’t used to have trouble getting a job.
ahouell500@reddit
Even only ten years ago, there seemed to be quite a lot of entry level retail roles posted on jobsites. Now I rarely see any, idk why but it doesn't seem good
Beginning-Poet-2991@reddit
Yeah and not just young people. Some of us have 10 years of experience and have been unemployed for months.
asjonesy99@reddit
Tbh I’m just reaching the point where I can’t be bothered to fill out applications.
So many applications now are asking you to fill out essay style questions at the same time as submitting your CV, so you can spend ages thinking of and writing answers just for someone to skim over and chuck out your CV and not even bother reading your answers. Just feels like a complete waste and disrespect of my time.
AmphibianNo8598@reddit
Honestly yeah. I went back to uni because it was so demoralising. Plus I’d need to take the bus to work and that makes people want to hire me even less but I can’t afford driving lessons or a car on account of I can’t get a job.
Asher-D@reddit
Why not just lie about that? Frankly it's none of their business how you're getting to and from work, they're not paying you for it and they're not transporting you so it's really none of their business.
I don't have a car currently, but I can drive. If they ask I say I do drive. And they assume that means I'll be driving to work for some reason.
asjonesy99@reddit
I’ve seen jobs want proof of a UK driving license
AmphibianNo8598@reddit
I mean I’m not a natural liar but I barely even got interviews due to having a different postcode so didn’t really have opportunity either
MixAway@reddit
What’s wrong with taking the bus? Millions of people use public transport to get to work every day!!
Suspicious_Tax8577@reddit
You're seen to be more unreliable because you're dependent on the busses actually running and stuff.
Traditional_Prize632@reddit
But what about those of us with disabilities that stop ue from being able to drive? Isn't that ableism?
Pippin4242@reddit
Yeah I think I got fired over it once. Also because I couldn't drive home to eat lunch and had expected work to provide somewhere to eat - I didn't care if it was at my desk, but they wouldn't have that.
Asher-D@reddit
That's ridiculous. Even when I drove to work I never went all the way home unless I lived within a 2-3 minute drive, that's such a waste of time and petrol!
Pippin4242@reddit
"you can walk into town and go to that nice café!"
(Me, on minimum wage, still under full-time hours after joining on the promise of full-time): "it's raining, Janet"
_a_m_s_m@reddit
That just sounds like they wanted to get rid of you & that was the simplest, most bullshit reason they could think of.
I hope you have a better employer nowadays!
Pippin4242@reddit
They were shitty to me about a lot of stuff, so it was either "the employee who's been off the whole time you worked for us is about to lose the partner she's caring for, and we can't be bothered to make that look legit" or "my husband doesn't like it when you sit on a chair in the far corner of the kitchen to eat your lunch and he occasionally sees you. How dare you not drive all the way home for every lunch break."
I left a job for that job, but the previous job was a bad one too. I now work for my wife, which is so much better
_a_m_s_m@reddit
Glad to hear things got better for you!
Internet-Dick-Joke@reddit
Plus even in major urban areas, some businesses will be in locations not accessible by public transport. Outside of urban areas, especially in more rural locations, it becomes damn near impossible to get around without a car.
_a_m_s_m@reddit
Luckily we tore up most of the rural railways so if you can’t afford to drive, well… things aren’t going to be changing for a very long time!
Positive-Warthog2480@reddit
Less reliable.
I had a temp job last year that started at 8am. The buses in my region are incredibly unreliable, so I would get the 6:30am bus that only takes 15 mins, wait for Cafe Nero to open and read a book for an hour.
The girl I worked with lived further out of town, and her first bus wasn’t until 7am, she was frequently late.
themcsame@reddit
Unless you live in area where public transport is highly reliable (basically a few places in the country at best, when they're not striking), you're considered unreliable and highly unlikely to be flexible due to the timetable not matching up with earlier/later start/finish times. It's not exactly as if you can set out 5 minutes earlier to beat the traffic or anything.
Likewise, in adverse weather, you're more unlikely to turn up as public transport often axes services well before people in their cars are giving up.
Asher-D@reddit
Buses stop running where you live because it's raining??? I've never heard of such a thing.
themcsame@reddit
Adverse weather is shit like heavy snow, flooding, high winds, extreme cold/high temps.
Services absolutely stop in those conditions (less so with flooding and winds, depends on the specific conditions) whilst many private vehicles are still able to navigate the road to some degree in those conditions.
Shit, public transport shuts down because we've only had a bit of snow, never mind heavy snow...
Why your definition of adverse weather is 'typical British weather' is beyond me, but it's wrong wherever you got it from.
mronion82@reddit
Normally flooding.
OpalRainCake@reddit
employers assume you'll be late if you miss the bus but at my last job we had people being late because their car broke down
DribblinDrifloon@reddit
Last time I was on the bus I noticed that the bloke who was sat in front of me was wearing a nappy and had shit smeared all up his back. His carer was either completely oblivious or too embarrassed to acknowledge the situation. I checked his seat as I got off and, sure enough, he'd left a smear of shite behind.
I walk everywhere now.
-info-sec-@reddit
I have to use the bus tomorrow 🙄. Hopefully it arrives.
Corporate travel to the big smoke tomorrow. Have to collect tickets from the railway stn (I refuse to drive, despite being an option and slightly quicker). My local stn doesn't have a ticket machine, so we have to get the bus to the nearest city and collect it there 😬
AmphibianNo8598@reddit
Yeah I don’t know, they hate it. I had a job for six months a few years ago which I think I only got because the manager who interviewed me also took the bus. I live near a city but in a different postcode so they seem to think I’m miles away even though buses run every half hour. They were annoyed that I couldn’t work opening shifts or closing shifts even though I could get pretty close and there were plenty of staff that could, I was always in town at least an hour early so I was never relying on one bus but they just don’t like it. They’re harsher on you for it too. I had a few coworkers who regularly showed up over fifteen minutes late without them calling them but one time I had to take the first bus of the day and I got a call two minutes after my shift started asking where I was and why I hadn’t called to say I’d be late like damn sorry that I’m not clockwatching every second I’m on the bus, you know full well that the first bus of the day gets me in five minutes before my shift 🙄 this was with me working IN the bus station btw. I didn’t get the job in the store I interviewed in because they thought it was too far even though it was literally five minutes walk from the bus station…
BladesMan235@reddit
For a lot of people they are trash? When i got my first job the bus route took an hour for a 10 min trip by car. Also meant getting out of the house 1 hr 45 mins before starting work cause it was the only one to get me there in time. It’s demoralising.
knightsbridge-@reddit
Confused. Why would the bus be a problem...?
I got the bus to work from age 16 to about 26-ish back in the 00s because I couldn't afford a car til then (I had a license, just nothing to use it with). Why would an employer care how you're getting to work as long as you get there... ?
Did_OJ_Simpson_do_it@reddit
Username checks out
mronion82@reddit
I used to work at a call centre on an industrial estate. There was only very patchy bus service out there, it would have been almost impossible to rely on them. The company knew this of and only really employed drivers. Not overtly of course, but as far as I know all my colleagues drove.
AmphibianNo8598@reddit
Hey I don’t know man it just is they hate buses
imokaytho@reddit
The job I have now is 20 miles away and in the middle of nowhere. I realllyy wanted the job though because the hours and pay was perfect so when they asked me if I could drive in the interview, I said yes even though I couldn't.
They didn't know how I was travelling and a few weeks later after I saved up money, I took an intensive driving course and passed my test.
_a_m_s_m@reddit
It won’t be safe everywhere but have you tried cycling? It honestly might be the same time as the bus if not faster because there’s more direct routes are possible.
But the real benefit is that it is point to point so there’s no schedule that may or may not reflect reality.
AmphibianNo8598@reddit
Honestly it would probably be a bit far to cycle :( I can’t really ride a bike either. My sister nearly killed herself going down a hill around the time I was learning so I noped out of that haha
_a_m_s_m@reddit
Ah that sucks to hear, some councils & local cycling advocacy groups do run adult cycle training programmes that can definitely help you to find your confidence on two wheels.
Other than that, an E-bike can definitely take the sting out of a long ride.
Even if some journeys are too long, being able to sped up & make shorter ones easier will still be very helpful, especially if you don’t drive.
ALA02@reddit
Shelf stacking jobs have online assessments…
AbjectGovernment1247@reddit
Are you required to pass 100 levels of Tetris?
ALA02@reddit
That would at least be a useful test
Traditional_Prize632@reddit
Yeah, like at least 3 tests! 😂😂
dbxp@reddit
I think some of them are just to weed out the people who don't want a job but are required to apply to get UC
Soloaegisthus@reddit
Why do people make up these random statements in their head to satisfy their biases ? It's not uncommon for hundreds of people to apply to basic shelf stacking jobs now. Not out of want but out of need.
Lemoncaked_0@reddit
Fake job listings, jobs with too many hurdles (not worth the time if it's like 5 different types of meetings), and the most relevant one is the future holds nothing but even more bullshit and misery. Honestly, if I knew what life would be like while I was in my mother's womb, I would've strangled myself w my umbilical cord. Ofc I'm not actually suicidal, funerals cost money too. We don't do cremations, what a waste of a corpse.
mx_sidequest0@reddit
I think a lot of young people got stuck in this weird cycle where you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience in the first place
Potential-Living-676@reddit
Too many middle aged dodgy so-called 'students' working in retail. These jobs rightfully belong to young people.
Easy-Equal@reddit
Youth unemployment isn't that today its at about 12.4% it was higher from 1991 to 1997 the dropped from 1998 to 2004 then higher than now again from 2005 to 2016
Fromasha@reddit
Sickness is the real problem in this cohort though. Apparently 16% of 16-24 yo report ill health as a barrier to work. This is potentially a sticky issue that will persist as the cohort ages and not a good sign for their future in the workplace...
Altruistic_Dare6085@reddit
This is anecdotal, but I think the current problems with NHS waiting times are part of the issue here. I have a friend who is part of that 16%, she's been stuck with mysterious daily vomiting for about a year now.
The problem is if your problem isn't immediately life threatening but doesn't have a quick and easy fix, you are understandably not going to be the priority for whichever specialist service you get referred to. A lot of young people with manageable chronic health conditions that could be working aren't because they are stuck waiting months and years for a diagnosis and/or treatment plan.
Liv_October@reddit
I've got a possible chronic health condition that's affecting my ability to work - so I'm only working part-time (so underemployed). I went for an occupational health meeting last week and was told if my work aren't able to put in place the recommended reasonable accomodations, then I'll need to be signed off on long-term sick until I'm treated by a specialist. I'm supposed to be able to be seen in 12 weeks on a regular waitlist, but I've been on the most urgent waitlist since November and still have months to go. They can't even tell me where in the list I am.
ComplaintMaster69420@reddit
It’s not bad, until you’re part of that low percent and can’t figure out a way out
Chrolan1988@reddit
Good to someone look at data pragmatically. Half the issue with all these types of things is that data can manipulated to tell a story that wants to be told. Politicians are expects at this.
The only place where I see a true story told is the ability for young people to buy a house and tbf it is very difficult when compared to certain periods of time.
With this being said, I am surrounded by fellow employees who are under 30 and they either own a home or have recently bought a home or in the process of buying.
It is possible, often it requires good foundations at home though. Family/Parents who are willing to double savings up, or help with big purchases, e.g. don’t get PCP son/daughter, I will help you get a used car and you can pay me less etc which is encouraging their young adult child to save to buy a home.
turtleship_2006@reddit
At work, you're surrounded by employed youngsters, how shocking.
I have loads of young colleagues who are obviously employed, but a large proportion of people who go to my uni are unemployed.
alastairaec@reddit
These numbers are pretty bad though, as you only count as officially 'unemployed' if you are registered with the DWP and providing them evidence that you are actively looking for work.
A decent chunk of young people are unemployed living with parents and the government has no idea.
Not to mention tons of people are under-employed, they might have a job on paper but it's only part time or gig work because that's all they have available, and it isn't really enough to live off.
That data is also skewed because it starts at 16, so it includes the years of 16-18 when full-time education is mandatory, so that's immediately 25% of the 16-24 age bracket that can definitionally never be counted as unemployed because they're students.
Sussurator@reddit
I’d envision the frenzy that government interventions around covid caused was a big contributor to all of this.
It felt like a period of hysterical buying, jacuzzis sold out, garden furniture was impossible to find, used car prices went through the roof (range rovers etc more so). This all created lots of employment, if felt like all industries were booming.
The bubble burst in the run up to the Ukraine war and things haven’t been the same since. It’s a cycle, yes, but AI is a new disruptive force to our ecosystem. It will be interesting to see where the next upward swing takes us and if it takes us all.
SavageRabbitX@reddit
AI is its own bubble that is gonna pop as soon a anthropic and OpenAI have to show a profit, their cash burn rate is insane and they've only just started to charge enterprise a fraction of real compute cost, we already have circular dealing between the big 4 basically propping up MS,Amazon and Nvidia share prices.
When the bubble burst its gonna be carnage, AI has its uses but what the majority of compute is being used on is frivolous AI slop
dbxp@reddit
There will be a pop and the B2C products may disappear however in the B2B space even with increased token costs you're still likely saving money.
One of the weird things with investment in AI is that they announce big numbers but those are actually investments over multiple years and an announcement doesn't mean any money actually changes hands. The $500b Stargate project for example has at most 10% of the funding required and likely far less. The circular investment lowers exposure as if say you give your investment in the form of cloud computing credits then the company goes bust you essentially lose nothing, that investment is automatically tranched at the rate the AI company can consume them and the hyperscaler locks in a customer.
Personally I think a good segment of the actual cash invested comes from the sovereign wealth funds in the middle east.
luckless666@reddit
I think the used car prices went up as there was a chip shortage which impacted new car manufacturing worldwide, from what I remember.
Sussurator@reddit
That’s right, the shortage of chips certainly pushed the prices up but there was a lot of splurging back then too.
Hurglee@reddit
Nobody has mentioned this yet but Britain is seeing a drastic increase in its population at the moment despite the fall in % of unemployed people.
Growth of businesses doesn't happen that fast but immigration is increasing the population dramatically. Covid actually saw a HUGE Spike in immigration.
Good_Recognition3818@reddit
i feel like the immigration wouldn't be so much of an issue if we still had freedom of movement that would allow our people to work in Europe without the need for expensive, hard to get visas. If people could leave England to find work elsewhere easily, I figure they might.
marsman@reddit
Anecdotally, there seems to be a lot less pressure to go to work, more opportunity to stay at home, and more to do at home. Work is harder to get, but I also feel like there has been a shift in what people around 18-25 will actually go out and do (and yes, they are competing with older workers too).
For context, I have four kids, all of them managed to get work, one with a degree, one going to university next year, one who has taken a break from their degree course and one who finished A-levels and decided against university. Of all of them, my eldest who has a degree and so finished uni, probably had the hardest time finding work, largely because he had an idea that he'd complete his degree and immediately get work in the areas his degree was in. He didn't.
It took him a couple of months, and a bit of persuading, looked for essentially any entry level job, got one and has gone from there. The lad who decided not to go to uni has landed a relatively decent entry level job in an interesting area wit prospects for promotion, but is basically trying to figure out what he actually wants to do. Both the other two decided having money so that they could go out, buy things and do stuff was better than the alternatives of UC and have both had relatively casual jobs (one in hospitality, the other fast food, and now somewhat less causally with the courts service..).
But it has been a bastard, and looking at the other parents I know, there are a lot of kids who simply haven't managed to get into work, and don't appear to be doing much beyond rote applying for jobs to change that. What surprises me is that they aren't really doing much else either, its not as though there is a shortage of courses, support workshops and a slew of other things, including volunteering if they want it, there just doesn't seem to be much of a push for them to do so and little if any penalty if they don't.
So I get the impression there are mix of issues, a lack of casual, short term, part time work that is actually flexible (as in, flexible for the employee as well as the employer), a lack of roles related to degrees when people finish university, a bit of looking down at apprenticeship roles (Seriously don't get that..), a lot of doom and gloom around all of it (And a weird fatalistic thing too, I remember my eldest saying it would be impossible for them to get a job, or a flat, or do anything, right up until his younger sister got a job and basically told him they were looking for staff, him turning it down, and then me and his mum telling him to wind his neck in about the lack of work if he is actively turning it down because it was too much hassle to actually go out to work...). I think there is an issue with socialisation, a lack of motivation (some of it reasonable, some of it not) and because so many of their peers are in the same situation, there are not the same sort of in group dynamics about it being weird that you aren't at least trying to get some work or just 'do' things.
So is the economy that bad? Probably not, no. Are there a multitude of factors, both economic, social and individual that seem to all converge to cause issues? Yeah, absolutely. A lot of them can be addressed through change and policy, a fair few of them probably not, and I do think the legacy of covid is a factor, and the way social media fucks with people is too.
Captaingregor@reddit
If anyone has the answer please tell me. I got rejected by a supermarket despite having significant previous experience in the role and being able and willing to do any hours any day.
StatisticianOverall@reddit
Did you ask them for feedback? I've been looking for work for 5 months, and I always ask for feedback. Usually the recruiter says no. But very occasionally I get a positive response.
Captaingregor@reddit
Literally said in the rejection email I got a few days after the interview that they weren't able to provide feedback.
ShakeNBakeUK@reddit
places won't give feedback nowadays bcos it just opens them up to being sued for discrimination somehow. if you have the skills & experience, it's likely personality or people skills during the interview that you slipped on. gotta not give up tho, keep on applying to as many places as possible. consider restaurant work as well, as you can earn a lot extra in tips once you know what you are doing.
Captaingregor@reddit
Honestly I reckon it's because they went for someone under 20 because they can pay them less. If there's a choice between me in my mid 20s and some 18 year old they'll pick the kids because it's £2 an hour cheaper. I have a friend who works at the store who said all of the new staff for that role were kids.
noodlezs76@reddit
I work for the NHS and one of my team members is retiring this month and HR are refusing the pass the job ad because there are some changes coming that might affect the department. The job will still need filling regardless of the forthcoming changes but HR are being awkward dickheads about it and will leave the team short staffed because of something that might affect the wider department sometime in the next 12 months or so.
Dramatic-Bottle-5194@reddit
I literally got a job on contract and interviewed for the role permanently and the end of term. I was labelled an exemplary employee, offered boat loads of potential to integrate into the company (role was lower than previous experience), was told in the interview that I should be applying to higher positions, and…
… they offered the permanent contract to somebody else because ‘I lacked experience’. I lacked experience in a job I had already worked, like, literally the same job. Met with the CEO two weeks later, and they told me that the company should be working with people like me. Lol.
Absolutely crackers - even when you have a job, you’re STILL having to fight. It took me hundreds and hundreds of applications, two degrees, boat loads of freelance experience to get in the door, and even that wasn’t enough. I’ve lucked out since and am now back on track, purely by chance, but I dread to think where I’d be without. It’s exhausting, and then some.
Disastrous-Job-5533@reddit
Experience is a huge factor, while not necessarily a highly skilled role I’ve worked security for many years and recommended it to a nephew, while he’s qualified (more than myself, legally speaking) no security role will take him due to no experience.
Same thing as myself trying to get into a part time job as a cycle mechanic, essentially a lifetime of experience fixing my own bikes - worked for bike hire companies, self employed etc, but no certificate to say that I can do it so any job role is extremely unwilling to take me and the certificate is almost 2 grand (sometimes more).
I think it’s great employers have kind of gotten smart to people just listing a bunch of made up stuff on their CVs but still
Prestigious_Claim907@reddit
because they don't understand they have to do rubbish jobs for terrible pay to start their working lives
ActivatedApple@reddit
We're just not happy. And when we're not happy, we want to give minimum effort to people not contributing to an increase in said happiness.
People go through education using standardised testing that's extremely dated. Kids are pushed into a one-size-fits-all environment, where the complete opposite is true. People are made to feel like they need to pursue certain paths to earn money, and anything deemed enjoyable should only be done in spare time.
Personally, I was pushed into work at 18 due to covid and living conditions that were out of my control. Care work was the only option available due to said circumstances. Under paid, under funded, low staff in times where we were hyper-vigilant and took more care as a result of covid. Being one of the only members of the team that was white and spoke English, I was further strained on an already stressful situation. This isn't racist, speaking to people with dementia with English as a first language is hard enough. Speaking to them in Limited English, not understanding the UK care culture, and the patients being racist from their upbringing made myriad more problems.
Holding the hand of someone as they died, or being the one to find them dead in their bed was not my plan at 18. Here I am, 5 years later, medicated, depressed, anxious, traumatised, in therapy - all a result of poor workplace management and treatment as a whole. I understand that not every job is like this, but two care homes in two different locations, and two retail jobs later - all poorly managed, with limited support, and terrible trust in staff and staffing issues regarding numbers, holidays, rotas, etc.
Been signed off of work for nearly 6 months now, and only just starting to feel like I'm able to return to finish college so I can pursue something meaningful to me. Also means I won't have to look for work in the meantime. Looking for work was as draining as actually working.
It's different for everyone. Some people like 9-5 go home to their kids. Some like the hard labour if the money is good enough. And there's some that want to make sure that the kids of today feel supported, encouraged, and seen. If you can't tell, I'm of the latter group.
When the entry is experience that you've not been given the chance to get, or qualifications that have taken years to get to not be used, all for minimum wage and poor working environments - its deters us young adults from working.
This is why.
VirtualKai@reddit
Blame labour - Quite simply.
Even_Luck_3515@reddit
Yes, it is that bad
CourtshipDate@reddit
My cousin is early 30s, got a undergrad in Criminology and post grad in something similar. Tried the police service nearly a decade ago, but didn't like the vibes apparently. Hasn't worked since, just living with his parents. No plans whatsoever.
A real waste, but I can understand to a certain extent. If there's no realistic hope of getting on in life (mortgage, even moving out is hugely expensive) might as well just stay at home.
MonkeyBoy697@reddit
Most of the jobs young people used to get - call centres, supermarkets etc. - have all gone. Call centres went overseas, supermarkets moved to self service checkouts and run on the minimal staff possible, same with places like McDonalds, they run on no staff now.
Majestic-Ad4074@reddit
Instead of asking why young people are out of work, ask why corporations aren't hiring young people.
This isn't the young people's problem, it's late-stage capitalism by design.
You will have nothing and be thankful.
lessienessie@reddit
I basically got bullied out of what was a dream job for me... it's a long story, but it got to a point where I was physically sick with it (I lost a ton of hair, gained a ton of weight and had the most horrific chest and back pains literally 24/7 that frequently woke me up in the night...) and it wasn't even a particularly physically demanding role, it just made me absolutely miserable.
When I eventually dared to say I wanted out, I had to work for a month which I didn't argue about because I imagined it would take time to sort out hiring someone new but I ended up working at least 2 weeks more after I'd basically officially left the place!
See, they were in no rush to advertise the position and when it did eventually get posted, I saw emails coming through notifying of new applications and a lot were getting binned within minutes of them coming through which gave them no time really to even scan read through the applications.
My application was very long because it was basically a dream/ideal role for me and it took a while of going back and forth with me before I got the position, but with this, I'd been told they basically needed to hire someone urgently yet applications were getting discarded within minutes of them coming through to the email so there was no way they were reading half of them🤦♀️
Either they were desperate... or... they weren't...
I stayed at my new job for 3 days until I realised they were breaking laws and were putting children in danger... it was a role in childcare and for a start they didn't have enough staff, they let me in without even being vetted because they desperate too and one long standing member of staff literally quit the day before I started.
There were a few sick kids that were sobbing 24/7 because they were tired and they didn't even have a spot to sleep, every other room did but theirs didn't and so I had children clinging to me begging to be comforted whilst I was getting moaned at because I needed to do the online training right in the centre of the nursery without headphones so all I could hear is a mixture of kids sobbing and shouting as they were playing.
I was basically out of the fat and into the frying pan with that job and I realised I just wasn't going to get anywhere because it was so poorly managed, all of the other members of staff who had been there for a few years were basically tearing their hair out with the stress...
There were two members of staff (I was one of them... an untrained, unvetted, brand new member of staff) for 20+ young kids, at least 5-10 had severe learning disabilities too and needed 1 to 1 care which just wasn't possible so it was just chaos all round 😔
I did my best to volunteer as soon as I could before we moved to where we are now and I did that for a few months, I own my own business too but I find it wobbles a lot because of competition and demand which I know is to be expected.
Anyway, I am in my early 20s and I have done a lot to stay in work, but my best efforts were futile it seems and I have experience on my CV showing I was a store manager and that I'm capable of a lot because I've gained experience in loads of areas BUT... what others have said here is true:
'Ghost advertising' as some call it, where employers put fake adverts up or rather, adverts where they're either gauging interest or just need to follow rules by putting adverts up to make it look like they're a functioning company lol when they have no intention of replying.
I have applied for another recently where everything is automated - they have an inbox where you can message the employer with any questions you have and they've offered an interview, so, I messaged asking if they needed me to bring anything along like documents and certificates etc but I've had absolutely nothing from them.
So maybe a lot of it is automated but I have applied for lots and lots of jobs over the last couple of years and I've heard back from a handful - the responses were automated too, just saying "thanks for your interest but we've moved on"... so at least I got a reply 🥴
I'm sorry for the long comment, but I am one of the many many individuals who have put work into trying to get employment and yes, whilst I've had jobs, all three so far have been soul destroying... not the usual dead end jobs with crap pay, just, absolute a-hole managers, shit working conditions and the health issues I got as a result... I had to leave...
There's so many reasons though why people are struggling to get hired and it seems if you have legitimate useful degrees, you still get ignored!
One person that applied to my original job literally had a business degree and I briefly read through their application to see they were more than fit for the job but I wasn't allowed to get involved in the hiring process and their application just got binned too lmao 😭😭
If you do get hired, you'll either have a fab time or you'll get treated like garbage... so... that'll put people off too... the country - the world - is an absolute shit show at the moment honestly
lessienessie@reddit
I stayed at my new job after I quit the first for 3 days until I realised they were breaking laws and were putting children in danger... it was a role in childcare and for a start they didn't have enough staff, they let me in without even being vetted because they desperate too and one long standing member of staff literally quit the day before I started.
There were a few sick kids that were sobbing 24/7 because they were tired and they didn't even have a spot to sleep, every other room did but theirs didn't and so I had children clinging to me begging to be comforted whilst I was getting moaned at because I needed to do the online training right in the centre of the nursery without headphones so all I could hear is a mixture of kids sobbing and shouting as they were playing.
I was basically out of the fat and into the frying pan with that job and I realised I just wasn't going to get anywhere because it was so poorly managed, all of the other members of staff who had been there for a few years were basically tearing their hair out with the stress...
There were two members of staff (I was one of them... an untrained, unvetted, brand new member of staff) for 20+ young kids, at least 5-10 had severe learning disabilities too and needed 1 to 1 care which just wasn't possible so it was just chaos all round 😔
I did my best to volunteer as soon as I could before we moved to where we are now and I did that for a few months, I own my own business too but I find it wobbles a lot because of competition and demand which I know is to be expected.
Just adding this because if you do get a job somewhere, they often sell you a lie... this was an apprenticeship role and I got a tour of the place like it was orchestrated to look normal and well managed but once I was through the door... it was just difficult for me to stay.
Now I see adverts for this company and others popping up literally 24/7 because childcare, like hospitality and many other roles is like a revolving door of employment... people leave when they realise how shit it can be and that sucks because most of us do just want to get on with our lives and work hard.
We only have two pairs of hands each though and this nursery job needed 20 I swear to God... it was awful and management's nonsense of not hiring enough people was borderline on neglecting the kids because there weren't enough hands to manage each child's individual needs 😔
So what can you do...? Fake adverts are definitely a problem though, or employers that straight up lie through their teeth even in the interview to get you through the door before they crap on you from high up
TheUnSungHero7790@reddit
I am 38 years old and the 18 to 24 youth unemployment has always been high including when I was in that bracket, the term NEET was used alot then don't hear that word as much now.
ShakeNBakeUK@reddit
previous generations of youth didn't have to deal with the rampant AI bullsht in application processes now. how tf is a company supposed to work out who is actually good, when every single application looks perfect (as all written by AI nowadays?)
Eukonidor_Of_Arisia@reddit
The real question is, why is it an issue that someone isn't a wage slave, propping up a system made to benefit tyrants, paedophiles, con merchants and other assorted criminals??
If we all decided to stay at home for two months and refuse to clock in, humanity would be free and the criminals of this Earth would be on their knees.
So, I ask you again... Why?
ShakeNBakeUK@reddit
min wage went up like crazy, so now companies only wanna hire people who know WTF they are doing i.e. not young people. there's also been a hiring freeze for like the last 3 years in a lot of industries. and then you have AI to top it all off, which is starting to replace a lot of "entry level" jobs (especially graduate jobs). trades are probably gonna be where the money is for a good few years. AI can't easily replace your skillset, and rich ppl always need stuff doing.
plop@reddit
In my area all the jobs in hotels, chains of fast-food, airports, are all done by Indians on a work visa.
I guess they do a better job and don't complain about unpaid extra working time etc.
FiresidePete@reddit
Thanks to employment/tax laws it is'nt viable financially to hire. This is goverment fault. When the private sector has been decimated there will be insufficient funds to pay the public sector. everyone can see this but dumb politicians,
Xenozip3371Alpha@reddit
They need 4 years work experience to get an entry level job.
Gerrydealsel@reddit
Turns out there are downsides to the minimum wage and endless workers' rights. If only someone could have predicted this.
Dry-Letterhead-2902@reddit
I got all my GCSES, 3 A levels, have barmaid experience and got a degree and i have been unemployed for a year after applying for literally any job i would be able to get to, and im not on benefits so its not a matter of being lazy and benefits scrounging i genuinley have a good CV and no prospects and growing debt… 22 btw and a fully functioning clean presentable adult.
Ding-Dong-Diddily@reddit
Hard to find jobs. I’ve been looking for months. Only just got one. Hardly any hours but I’ll take what I can get these days.
CrazyCrocodile_@reddit
Good luck with the new job!! How many applications did you make in total before landing this role, and how many interviews?
Ding-Dong-Diddily@reddit
1 interview for this specific job. Had a few interviews over the total of the last few months. And I had to skip out on a few interviews as stuff got in the way. I probably applied to 100 jobs. But some I definitely am not qualified for. I just applied to get my name out there.
DoctorWhofan789eywim@reddit
Maybe because a lot of the jobs young people do, like retail, don't pay anywhere near enough to live on. Not worth getting out of bed for a wage that low.
dbxp@reddit
Back in the day it was mostly students doing those jobs for beer money, Saturday retail relied on sixth form students. Not all young people are worth paying a living wage
AbjectGovernment1247@reddit
Why?
suiluhthrown78@reddit
On full time hours retail is about £25,000, plenty to live on
DoctorWhofan789eywim@reddit
Exactly. Jobs like retail rarely give full time hours.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
They may not pay a lot but they don’t pay awfully, especially when you live at home and don’t have to pay rent. Not really an excuse
HecatesOracle@reddit
Young people are living at home and not paying rent? I mean, I'm 34, living at home still and unemployed due to chronic illness, but just under half my UC goes into the household account every month, and I've been paying at least something towards my keep since I started working 🥴
NoExperience9717@reddit
Usually rent living at home is significantly below market rates. For example I paid my parents £350pcm including a load of meals. Then I moved out and paid £850pcm rent + £250pcm in utilities and that's ignoring food and other household costs. Now I could have maybe shared which would have been cheaper but there was no way I was getting £350pcm on the open market.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
I think it varies tbh. I know he doesn’t and gets most stuff paid for him so there’s almost no reason to try and get one😕
Left_Hippo7282@reddit
The UK’s minimum wage has outpaced general inflation since 1999, rising by 70% in real terms.
Actual purchasing power is up, people now work less for milk, petrol, goods etc.
Rent has soared so it almost erases the gains in purchasing power from minimum wage.
But the stats are there and don't lie. Compare RPI on https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices with minimum wage.
People on minimum wage nowadays have far more purchasing power than someone on minimum wage in 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 etc.
Dry_Extension_9850@reddit
I work in technically an entry level role that doesn’t require a degree, I’m the only person in my team without a masters degree. Luckily we had a decent pay increase this year thanks to our union but last year we were on £28.
Wages are low, entry level roles can be filled with people who are over qualified and there are less positions due to businesses opting for skeleton workforces. My department used to have 150 staff and now it’s 50.
AbjectGovernment1247@reddit
£28 an hr?
I'm assuming you mean 28k a year, because then you're talking about wages being low. If not, please tell me what you do where you're earning £28 an hr. 😄
Viva_Veracity1906@reddit
AI, self checkout and post-Covid high street and pub closures. Yes, it’s really that bad out there.
WalesReformer123@reddit
Bad work ethic Insane min wage
Why hire someone when someone with experience is the same kind of money
Been hiring people 30 years and the current young people are worse than 20 years ago.
Just my opinion
Rhym3z_Official@reddit
Some people also just love the UC money and it's enough for them and I don't blame them either.
demeschor@reddit
I graduated with top marks from a decent uni and relevant experience in my field and couldn't get a job. It's really hard, especially if you're nervous and not a great interviewer. I've worked on it but it's still hard.
I got a job in a call centre on minimum wage and that was after being rejected for hundreds of roles, including volunteering roles. I literally couldn't give my time away for free. Eventually I've worked my way into a well paid job that I kind of enjoy, but I'd still rather be in my field. The only people I know working in the field got a leg up through family connections, basically. Once you're in the door, you're sorted.
But yeah, it's a really demoralizing job search experience, I was already depressed and anxious at the time and it had me right on the edge.
FXN2210@reddit
The really annoying thing a the moment is that in the NHS we have a significant shortage of staff to take care of patients and at the same time we have massive amounts of debt.
We're still training students, but we can't afford to hire them when they graduate so they sit there unemployed because upper management say they don't have the budget to employ them but continue to shut income generating services because that cost too much to run.
There's also to many middle managers and load of people transferring across from the closing NHS England with more experience (and unfortunately sometimes, less willing to do the hard clinical jobs) out competing new graduates.
Last post that went out to advert, we had to shut after 4 hours because it reached the application limit too quickly.
Impossible_Soil_4936@reddit
I came out with a degree in computer science in 2024. I cant even get warehouse role...
Negative-Fondant1373@reddit
I’m in a similar position spontaneously quit my previous role and past 2 years been unemployed and on UC. The job market is genuinely quite hard atm - every applying for basic things like retail
dbxp@reddit
Why did you quit without something else lined up?
Negative-Fondant1373@reddit
Was on a secondment 1hr 30 away from home and not able to go back to my original work place due to “operational needs”
dbxp@reddit
Yeah, that's shitty. What sort of job was it?
Defiant-Base4881@reddit
because people in the UK like to blame the job market when the problem is that they're lazy and incompetent
MixAway@reddit
Why did you quit without another job?
Fabulous_Cicada_4219@reddit
open the mines!
pantsuitpogostix@reddit
After hiring young people, it’s because they have no accountability and when they finally become worthwhile they leave.
Holska@reddit
As someone who’s currently looking for work - yes, it is that bad. I’ve sent out more applications than I ever have before, and the number of replies (not interviews- replies) could be counted on one hand. So many jobs now ask for a clean license and access to a car, even when the job has no direct need for a car. A lot of ads ask for prior qualifications that I’m not sure how you’d even achieve outside of the job, so tough luck if you want to move industries. I’ve seen places ask for numerous attributes, but still only offer part time hours and minimum wage. The interviews I have got have been thanks to experience I have from years ago, so lord knows how the younger applicants are doing.
It’s not just me, other friends who are looking are experiencing the same - experienced warehouse workers are barely getting calls for warehouse work. I have friends who hate their jobs but can’t risk moving on. I’ve never known it so bad.
Littlerocknary@reddit
Got my fingers crossed something comes your way very soon 🤞
visitingshortly@reddit
Because current gov has made it hard for businesses, effectively being anti growth by gold plating employment rights, increasing costs.
At the same time we had wider displacement in services due to AI.
And this is following years of weak growth under previous governments.
All in all a pretty toxic combination. Then you add in long run issues with migration suppressing wages in many low skill professions and reliance on none UK work forces in areas like social care and nursing (limiting number of graduate places in these professions).
Of course lots of people on here seem very focused on social spending and social issues. Which is wrong but what can you do.
Illustrious_Fig_8537@reddit
Can't get a job without experience.
Can't get experience without a job.
- speaking from experience. 4+ years of it.
TrappedUnderIceSpice@reddit
Cause they’re lazy. In my twenties I was working SIXTEEN hours a day!
qtpat00tie@reddit
WOW you were such a good slave! I hope you got a slave of the month award for your efforts.
360Saturn@reddit
It seems to be that nowhere is hiring or places are just running a skeleton staff.
The last 2 or 3 years of places I've worked, big employers, when people have left the team they haven't been replaced, or they've only been replaced with someone covering from another department part-time.
Now why this is, I don't know. Greed at the top? Expectation from covid? But everywhere seems understaffed too and it's not helping anyone.
ServerLost@reddit
Tell him to get a CSCS card course off the jobcentre, there are always labouring jobs going.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
He doesn’t want to do labour apparently
un32134e4@reddit
don't blame him
Fluffy-Vast-4848@reddit
I can tell you pharma is dead. Got 50 CVs in less than 24h for a fixed term position (cover). Many people significantly overqualified, we're talking probably 30k pay cut compared to their latest position and an effective demotion to a lower role. Not one person, like 20/50.
TonyBlairsDildo@reddit
If youth unemployment is above 2% there is zero case for working age immigration. Zero.
The "muhhh aging population demographics" argument doesn't hold water when there's people already here that can work.
A political solution to youth unemployment is to surcharge employing anyone on a visa; if your company is that desperate for a particular immigrant then you're revealing a structural skills imbalance. A 300% income levy should be made on the employer (probably via employer NI) to fund education and training to fix the imbalance in the medium-to-long term.
Affectionate_You_858@reddit
A lot of gateway jobs have gone. A lot of young people used to work in hospitality and retail, 2 industries which are on deaths door
NoNeedleworker8860@reddit
Plenty of work in care homes. People just don't want to do it.
Negative_Map4650@reddit
Friend of mine offering positions well above NMW will regularly schedule 6 interviews across a day and be surprised if more than one turns up, it's not all on the employer. They also brought in apprentices about 12 a year, NMW but £40-45k one qualified and a job for life due to demand, not a high education bar but graft till your up the chain, most didn't last a year, one left to drive a van for a butcher so heck knows what motivation the school leavers need to engage.
rug1@reddit
What type of job/ what industry was the one your mate was offering apprenticeships for?
Negative_Map4650@reddit
HGV automotive - mechanics, parts mainly
Particular-Bid-1640@reddit
I've heard working conditions aren't great for that kind of position.
The HGV driver and mechanic and my dad's workplace has to provide his own tools, and the company won't insure them if left on the premises overnight
Potential-Ad-6552@reddit
Also keen to here. Ive been looking for a career switch since christmas and have so far had nothing.
shanster23@reddit
Also would like to know this!
Pale_Slide_3463@reddit
Don’t they say this about every generation? They were bashing millennials for the teen mums.
Confident_Yak_1411@reddit
I would normally agree with you but this time definitely feels different. Those entry level jobs are a lot harder to find.
I’ve recently found myself looking for a part time job after 15 years of self employment and the situation is pretty dire. My CV is pretty impressive in comparison to many people starting out and agencies were turning me away as they didn’t have any work.
Iwantedalbino@reddit
Usually it’s “this generation are work shy”.
Unfortunately it seems there’s genuinely a lack of entry level/ typical part time jobs. Probably linked to the demise of the high street and technology becoming available that doesn’t generate new employment just replaces people.
WalkinshawVL@reddit
Where I am, traditional teen jobs (eg supermarkets, coffee shops and fast food chains) are all done by Indians nowadays.
AskUK-ModTeam@reddit
This topic has been discussed either too often over time or recently.
Please search the sub or Google instead.
Interesting-Hawk-744@reddit
Well try an experiment. Pretend you have the location, transport and qualifications and experience of your relative and make up a CV and pretend to look for a job as that 20some year old. See how you get on.
Companies have figured out that they can run their brick and mortar shops on skeleton staff and customers will still pay they'll just complain to the ones serving them run off their feet or put up bad reviews which the company can then use to deny those same staff raises and make what should be a simple job into a toxic hellscape. When the current staff get burnt out they don't care.
A lot of these formerly 'young people' jobs are being increasingly filled by desperate people in older age brackets who have no other options when it comes to affording basic things and the companies prefer them to young people who are less reliable or more likely to leave for various adventures like Uni or backpacking or Australia or whatever
myphonebatterysucks@reddit
Other commenters have covered the bases pretty well, but an idea I'll add in as a youth worker is this: Young people have absolutely no hope for their future. Imagine being 16 right now; you turned 10 when a massive pandemic hit, and then every year has just seen things get worse and worse and worse with no prospect of things getting noticeably better for the foreseeable future. Your entire adolescence - an eternity for a teenager - has been spent hearing news stories about the rise of fascism, climate change, pandemics, science denial, and political crises which have led to the cost of living being fucking mental.
Many young people simply don't see a future. Many young people don't care about working because they are not interested in saving for futures they do not perceive themselves to have. Additionally, they also view work as a waste of time; they can live at home and do nothing particularly enjoyable or exciting because it is too expensive, or they can get a job, live at home because moving out is too expensive, and also not do anything particularly enjoyable.
Lt_Muffintoes@reddit
Taxes are too high
Regulations are too onerous
Benefits are too generous
MrSteveBob@reddit
It’s difficult enough for someone with a wealth of experience to get a job, let alone someone who has none
IllExample3639@reddit
It's always been like this. But the job market is awful. I got interviewed last month and the interviewer said they had 800 applications for a role at a small family company. At that scale it's impossible to be seen
andrew0256@reddit
Apart from the well documented reasons of increasing automation, minimum and often high educational attainment, you now have AI to contend with for routine tasks.
I don't buy the minimum wage argument because employers should be paying proper wages and delaying the chairman's Ferrari for another year. If there is a problem with paying fair wages it does lead to compression of wages across the range of jobs.
In general living standards are higher than they were and some parents can afford to have these young people at home getting by on next to nothing. A lot can't though which exposes the fragility if today's employment world. There are no traditional father and son industries left and the nearest is knowing people rather than what you know.
Overall a very difficult problem to solve.
NoExperience9717@reddit
When do minimum wage increases stop? The minimum wage has gone from 50% of the median in the early 2000s to 67% now by government design. That's a 33% real increase in wage costs for businesses with a lot of near minimum wage employees as well as additional employer costs in auto-enrolment pension and employer's NI. It's at a level where it's frankly unprofitable to hire labour for small shops and cafes as they just can't guarantee selling £35/h+ worth of goods during a random weekday (based on a roughly 3x salary cost).
andrew0256@reddit
Another minimum wage rise will tip those earning it into paying income tax if the thresholds aren't changed. I expect those in charge of these things are well aware of it.
Wages have generally gone nowhere in recent years compared with rising costs and no one is exempt, except billionaires. Not everyone can access or benefit from further training or education before starting work and in work training must be a thing of the past. It was dieing out decades ago when I started work.
Like I said this is a difficult one to sort.
NoExperience9717@reddit
The personal allowance is £12,570. Minimum wage on 37.5 hours per week is £24,805. They're paying income tax already.
andrew0256@reddit
Whoops, my bad. I was basing my figures on part time working.
blackxtulip@reddit
Upbringing. I was lucky/privileged enough to have parents who encouraged me to stay in education, go to university and get a good job. They celebrated and encouraged my successes and helped me, in many ways such as financially, emotionally etc, to get to where I am today. Not many people can say they have the support and encouragement to be the best they can be, which is really sad.
Also, your familiar surroundings. If you were born into a family who never had to work, in a council house, living a low-income life, that becomes your normal. Personal achievements might not revolve around wanting to work and it’s really hard to break out of that “cycle”
SJWo92@reddit
Can get more money on benefits pip ect and work cash in hand also.
Jonoabbo@reddit
A couple of mates I have that are in their early 20s are really struggling since the minimum wage increases. They don't have experience or anything and what they offer to the business just doesn't justify the amount they would cost them.
IcyExercise908@reddit
they understand how the world works better than we did
Bez121287@reddit
Because there truly is no jobs anymore.
Self check outs are cutting stsff down.
What used to be summer jobs or temp work for students in retail stores are now occupied by stsff who feel they are stable and stay on as permanent stsff members.
Also how many people really go shopping at the high Street anymore? Once you lose customers there are 0 reasons to hire kore staff.
Yes the economy is that bad. It isnt growing and it will get worse, whatever thr news tells you.
If we as people are shopping more and more online and the footfall who go into shops dwindles and the tasks of 10 people are being taken over by Ai. Meaning instead of 10 people, you can do it with just 5 or less.
We will see record numbers of unemployment across the board. Honestly no ones jobs safe unless your in a trade and even those may swindle once people stop getting money
DoorGunner42@reddit
Stacking boxes for a large fast food chain in the middle of the night requires a full CV, AI chatbot conversation and personality test, as well as an actual in-person interview (if you don't get filtered out at the CV or chatbot stages).
And that was after 70+ applications in the span of the proceeding 6 weeks to every position I was qualified for within an hour's public transport of my place. (that number doesn't include all the shops I canvased in person who didn't take my CV/weren't hiring).
I have a sneaking suspicion that it didn't used to be that way...
Rossco1874@reddit
My niece is desperate for work she turned 16 in January and has applied for loads. She keeps getting knocked back and part of the reason is especially in retail they want people over 18 as they can loan work for approval of age restriction products and for working past 10pm at night
I am 43 and got my first job at 16 as did most my age so had a few years experience by the time I entered young adulthood. Just now young people are not able to enter workforce at 16 and by time they get to 18/19 they have 0 experience.
If a job does come up where no.experience is required it becomes over applied to.
heatheroanthehill@reddit
I see most folk bashing the crappy employers here but what about the crappy employees? Perhaps some employers are sick to the teeth of employing todays young people because they just don't want to work. There is much less drama from giving the job to an older person.
Milvusmilvus@reddit
My most dramatic member of staff is 60 years old. Consistently I've had more drama from middle aged and older people and I've hired people from 16 to 65+.
SnooozeFezt@reddit
They don't want to go into care work, where all the jobs are.
Apparently wiping backsides of the elderly is beneath them.
hsbdjkaybwjdys@reddit
There is a teenager on our local Facebook group advertising car cleaning and lawn mowing services, whilst still at school, seems to be popular. If you want to make money you can.
teknotel@reddit
Because we pay people to not work and make excuses for how nothing is their fault or responsibility.
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
Lots of jobs have been replaced in customer service by self checkouts.
Jobs in offices have been replaced by more streamlined systems such as eFiling (no need for filing clerks anymore or post staff).
People aren’t going out to eat as much due to affordability so not as many waiting jobs.
Probably fewer jobs in factories due to automation.
kickyraider@reddit
Hence the need for UBI
DevilsAdvocate1662@reddit
It's takes experience to get a job, but a job to get experience. It's so dumb but it's true
HobNob_Pack@reddit
Lots of people in here will make excuses and come up with reasons why you can't get x y and z job.
The reality is they're lazy with how they look.
If you're looking for a desk job in this day and age you're instantly up against 1000 other people who want to site in a nice warm / air conditioned room.
Look in some of the work subs on here. People are complaining after applying to 200 jobs over like 5 months. In most cases its 1 - 2 jobs a day average they're applying for.
You need to set your cv for the job. And just apply to every single listing available within whatever distance you can travel.
Last job I was at lost a contract and couldn't keep me on. I applied to 240 jobs from friday at 6pm when I got home to Sunday. Went for interviews Monday-wed and got a job doing something completely different so no experience carried over.
The other side of it is 'mental health' ive got 14 cousins and surprisingly every single one has something that means they can't (don't want to) work.
If feeling 'anxious' is what's stopping you from working then theres no hope for you.
TheBrianBoru@reddit
Was there something about national insurance deal with India and employment in Britian?
bananabastard@reddit
Healthy and capable young people on benefits should be put to work doing things for the community. Litter picking, cleaning/beautifying public areas etc. Instill a culture of working.
Catmom-101@reddit
Have you tried getting a job at all recently? It really is that bad.
I’ve got 2 degree’s (1 professional qualification in a medical field) and much more experience than a lot of young people (I’m nearly 30) and I’m struggling. My sister is an ex police officer of 10 years and has a lot of experience in other roles and she’s struggling too. Not a sniff. So I can imagine it must be near impossible for young people to get anywhere without qualifications or experience.
Bacon4Lyf@reddit
I've got a career, did an apprenticeship, got the degree, doing the job I wanted to do since I was 10. But my mate that works part time 20 hours a week and my other unemployed mate are far more satisfied with their lives. Doesn't really feel like you actually get anything for your 40 hours a week anymore, if you're doing the work but still can't afford a house why bother doing the work in the first place. a lot of times I'm at work thinking the whole things pointless because it's not allowing me to have the lifestyle I want, even if the lifestyle is just things like not having housemates, which I wouldn't have thought was a big ask, so why should I bother with this career business anyway if I'm still at the same level as my unemployed mates who enjoy their lives
himit@reddit
Lots of oldies out of work too. People with tonnes of experience are stuck searching, so entry level jobs can take senior staff for pennies on the pound and supermarkets/restaurants can hire full-time instead of part-time.The young don't have a chance.
-info-sec-@reddit
Job snobbery...
Holiday-Coconut-9303@reddit
Proper old man shouts at clouds comment. The economy is a mess, the job market is a mess, but sure, it's because people want to be "influencers*
-info-sec-@reddit
Got 6x children fella. One wants to be a pilot, one wants to mess with horses. The rest want to be influencers
Nothern_Trick1049@reddit
1 useless child is coincidence, 4 is just bad parenting.
-info-sec-@reddit
Yeah, the good two are mine 🤣. #blended family
Holiday-Coconut-9303@reddit
Your personal anecdote isn't reliable data, is it. Basic stuff here pal.
-info-sec-@reddit
Yeah mate, it is. The local farmer (we live in the countryside btw) wanted people to come help out. A little bit of pocket money, sorting the local vegetable stall out..
They'd rather play the Xbox/playstation.
Mrs is also a director of a business....we see them come and go, often.... always on phones etc.
Holiday-Coconut-9303@reddit
Sure pal.
-info-sec-@reddit
Found a perfect example for you.. they'll turn the heads at this. This is working in the back and stacking shelves. Easy work, monkey see, monkey do. They'll call it unsociable 🤣.
At 18, I had 2x jobs, a YTS for £45 a week and working in a bar. Bit different now, closer to £100k. They've just gotta stick it at the bottom.
"Summary ~ About the role
Availability Window Days From time To time Sun 16:00:00 22:00:00 Thu 16:00:00 22:00:00 Fri 16:00:00 22:00:00 Sat 16:00:00 22:00:00
Our Tesco Colleague rate of pay starts from £13.28 an hour; this increases to £14.55 for stores within the M25.
Additional payments may also apply depending on location."
International_Boss_7@reddit
This is just a silly generalisation.
-info-sec-@reddit
Ok 🤣🤣
rotundpikachu@reddit
it certainly feels like it's that bad! we moved to different part of the country 9 months ago as my husband secured a great job here, but i've been unable to find a permanent job. i'm 26 if it matters
applied for hundreds of jobs, have done a good number of interviews but I always just fall short of the mark unfortunately. i'll keep trying obviously but its doing a number on me mentally tbh
WGD23@reddit
Its the best time to be out of work tbh.
53v3r4L0N3@reddit
i worked in a care home (my ideal job and a very large passion of mine as i studied for it at GCSE + in college) as soon as i was old enough (im 22). However a couple of years ago i suffered a big (mental) break and was unable to go outside at all for a year then i suffered a series of various trauma combined with bad mental health issues. I tried to work at two different jobs last year but it caused serious physical and mental issues so im currently waiting for more therapy and hoping i can get back to work as soon as possible. I will add though i can only go outside for very basic things (food shopping) and i am neurodivergent ( autism, adhd and OCD combo). I miss working so much it made me feel so fulfilled and happy
WelshBluebird1@reddit
In terms of historical norms they arent.
wulfrunian77@reddit
Exactly, but Gen Z love to think they're the first generation that has been hard done by
AkenoBae69@reddit
I've been thinking about giving up on employment, and just joining a university, even though that is the last thing I want to do, simply because I haven't found a job in over 2 years since finishing college. I don't want to be on UC. I don't want to be depressed. I don't want to lay in bed all day.
I want a job in IT, but pretty much every entry level position within a reasonable distance from me has been replaced by AI
No-Country4319@reddit
Automation, AI, stagnant wages, poor pensions pushing older people to stay in positions for longer (or re-enter the workforce for low paying jobs), companies not investing in staff development or promoting from within, meaning lower positions don't get freed up as often...
craftyorca135@reddit
Well I'm a graduate (With a dodgy A key) aand I applied for 3 museums and I've been rejected by all of them. A teacher traaining scheme rejected me because I didn't recognise the expressions on their AI faces. Before uni, I had jobs that lasted a few months and had loads of rejections from the same few places. It's difficult.
Warriorcatv2@reddit
As someone in this category, any actual legitimate job is fought over like starving dogs fighting for scraps. At least 50% of job postings/listings are fake/scams/ghost postings.
Companies have also started to use AI tools to filter applicates which brings its own host of problems (props to the AI system that told the company I had a university. I don't, I went to a University Technical College. A human wouldn't make that mistake).
I only got a job after about two years of job hunting due to connections. Family member knew someone who had a relative about to start taking applications.
Fucked-to-fit@reddit
Can’t speak for anyone else but I’m 21 and I’m lucky enough to be in a situation where I don’t need to work(yet) I did a college course in 2024-2025 I’ve not done anything since,
I’ll most likely go back to college or look for an apprenticeship later this year, my biggest problem right now is deciding if I want to continue my original qualification(mechanics) or go to something new maybe something cleaner😂
Smidday90@reddit
Its no different to 20 years ago
cbawiththismalarky@reddit
40 years ago was much worse 20% youth unemployment but with much higher regional unemployment
Hyper_Lamp@reddit
No one wants to hire young people anymore
Rocks_an_hiking@reddit
Well im currently in my early 20s and I keep an eye out for jobs that dont need any experience and there just isnt any to apply for in my area at the moment. Im glad I chose to stay in education otherwise I wouldn't have anything to do.
coffeewalnut08@reddit
High employer rejection rates, bad public transport connections, limited job opportunities generally, mismatched skills, poor mental health, etc.
Take your pick
Terrible-Group-9602@reddit
Covid made being at home gaming, scrolling and being constantly online without thinking about work normalised for young men
SeriousFortune1392@reddit
It's terrible, honestly. I'm a graphic designer, graduated, I have some freelance experience, and work experience by working for my university, and I was told I didn't have enough experience for a volunteer job, doing graphic designer, that's how bad it is.
But also, as i have a master's, im also seen as too over qualified, for other jobs like sales assistants, which im willing to do.
Im not on UC im self employed, but im still looking because i prefer the stability of knowing what's coming in.
MixAway@reddit
Masters are pointless for most professions in the real world. Waste of energy (and money!).
SeriousFortune1392@reddit
I got mine during COVID. It gave me something to do, and I got a discount from the university.
I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for those circumstances, but I don't regret it.
TotallyRandomUser__@reddit
Just can't get a fucking job can I you prick.
TotallyRandomUser__@reddit
Hmm let me just think about it, yeahyour relative is lying to you. He's absolutely loving being on the dole right now making 0 progress in life, can't afford a single night out and making 0 savings. No, it's not that bad he's just living it large.
SpectreSingh89@reddit
Ah! We need to see the workplace as it is and reality.
For example, Tesco's are hiring and need 5 workers. 100 applicants apply. From the 100 5 will succeed and the other 95? Apply elsewhere and that elsewhere require 4 workers... Guess what? Add another 100 applicants to the 95!!! 195 and 4 succeeded in getting the job. 191 go elsewhere... 191 failed and 9 success.
It breaks my heart to say this downvote dialogue but sadly, I have a downvote dialogue... 😔 The best way of getting in a job is through recommendation. U need to know a guy who knows a guy who is hiring for a position. My first job? My dad's friend knew the ceo of the cnc factory I got hired. Second job? My uncle's factory. 3rd job? My sister was employed and recommended me in a soldering factory. 4th job? My friend knew a guy who worked for security and knew my security manager. 5th job? OKAY I was chosen by a recruiting agency so my own merit. 6th job? My former colleague got in, rang me and said "Here is the agency. Call them and apply" so I applied and got in.
Straight_Flow_4095@reddit
Because entry level graduate jobs in the UK are down 50%. Minimum wage jobs are getting automated fast (e.g. checkouts)
ParticulateSplatter@reddit
Do you have a source on the 50% number?
tekkenmusic@reddit
Minimum wage increased a long with NI. Before you paid a lower amount for younger people and more for senior. Now the cost of someone senior isn’t that much higher than someone younger so people are going to want an experienced person for a similar rate
tekkenmusic@reddit
This is also why the government are currently incentivising companies with 3k to hire younger people
roddz@reddit
Because a lot of the shifty grunt jobs that used to target young people have been automated out of existence with self service kiosks and ai and those that haven't been have become crazy competitive.
Initial_Statement1@reddit
Unemployment is a requirement of capitalism. It’s called surplus labour and helps drive down wages. The more power capital has, the higher unemployment rate as a result.
PKblaze@reddit
Because employers arent hiring them.
DONALD__TRUMP1946@reddit
Lazy young employees in my experience,they probably only last about a month because they can’t be bothered. They leave and claim benefits. Easy money without any work.
No-Plankton9362@reddit
As people have said, it isn't actually that high compared to other decades. However. The economy does such. Especially for younger people. Pubs and restaurants are struggling to stay open, so that's less work, tils in supermarkets are mostly automated so that's less work, AI is taking over a lot of professional jobs, so that's less work, it's every expensive to go to university now so that prices many people out, even with the loans, because there aren't enough hours in the week go to uni and do enough hours to keep a roof over your head. I could go on, but I feel that is a good chunk of reasons for you to think about to start with.
ragandbonewoman@reddit
I have a level 5 diploma and I just got rejected for a dinner lady job, which was the first interview I've had in 4 months.
Greedy-Cranberry-164@reddit
Government policy
yorkspirate@reddit
If someone in their early 20's hasn't worked for 2 years it's not a problem with the economy is it.
OrganicPoet1823@reddit
Sounds like he’s not exactly a great candidate
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
He’s not
NeilSilva93@reddit
A lot of the jobs that young people could get with relatively no experience or qualifications is diminishing and they are also in competition with older people for those roles. Retail's a good example of this: vacancies are down 14% over the last year according to the latest ONS stats, and are now half of the number ten years ago (49,000 now to 97,000 back then). Of course an individual's attitude towards work can be a factor but generally speaking it is pretty shit out there and I think will get worse.
Frogad@reddit
I've found it difficult to get a job despite having 3 degrees from a 'top university', obviously, I could just be delusional but I genuinely do think I'm more than qualified for most of the jobs I've applied for and could easily learn any of the skills I need on the door. I've done placements, have regular work experience, meet regularly with careers advisors and do interview prep and genuinely barely get any interviews.
MixAway@reddit
There are definitely a cohort who actively don’t want to work, and are happy to just take as many benefits as they can get. I have a couple in my extended family and I can’t be bothered to engage with them - it’s disgraceful.
ikeafannypack@reddit (OP)
Yeah unfortunately I agree. While there are definitely many people who really are trying to work, there are also many who just don’t give a 💩
c-e-r-y-s@reddit
Employers ask for too much from 17-18 year olds. X amount of experience, full driver's license, maximum X miles from workplace, this training, that certification, etc. Even if they have all that, it's going straight to someone older with more experience. Less training means less fees to pay and less time spent training people up. It's mostly convenience and prejudice that an older person with a bit of experience is simply better than a willing, promising young person hoping to do their absolute best.
That-Confusion-9646@reddit
Immigration. Obviously.
dbxp@reddit
One factor is increases in minimum wage, regulation changes, zero hours contracts and immigration mean fewer people are graduating with experience. Back in the day every student had a job and a lot of retail at the weekend was staffed by sixth form students. A uni grad could already have 5 years experience over a couple employers before they graduated. My sister for example had a paper route, 2 retail jobs and a cleaning job for the NHS on her resume before she graduated.
Another factor is uni still being sold as the way to success and a degree in anything is useful. An employer is looking for someone to fulfill a task, they care about skills and being able to deliver. Knowing how to write a history essay is not a skill many people need. IMO students should look towards industry certs, forklift, sia, hubspot etc, they're not always the most glamorous or high end things but they tell people what you can do.
Then_Care@reddit
The economy is doing poorly so more older people are in work because they can’t afford to live on just their pension(s). The people who would replace them in the workplace (basically everyone taking one step further up the ladder so the younger workers can come in) seems to have reduced. So there’s less jobs available but also a lot of companies have been going bust. More people are shopping online now and so the need for less shops means less work. There’s less people employed, more robots used instead.
The younger generations are being fucked over massively by everything that the silent generation and the boomers have done. Their greed means that we suffer, our children suffer and I don’t think we’ll have grandchildren as they can’t afford them (and some males have been so brainwashed by male influencers like Andrew Tate, that they no longer know how to treat a woman with respect. So quite rightly they won’t want to reproduce with that.) We are allowing our futures to be destroyed by capitalism and greed. Look at what AI is doing to education and our children’s brains. It’s terrifying.
mizzmi@reddit
Because there’s no fucking jobs for us 🥰
Tonythepillow@reddit
In what field?
mizzmi@reddit
Literally all of them? Half of the jobs I can and have applied for don’t reply to the applications even with a rejection, nothing. If it even gets to the interview stage you’re extremely lucky to even be considered for some minimum wage and minimum hours job that you’ll be bled dry doing the most for while they don’t even care about your health. I say that with permanent nerve damage in my shoulder as a 22 year old because my old job pushed me so far lmao.
DoubleXFemale@reddit
I’ve always worked retail jobs on and off over the years, taking breaks to take care of my young kids.
It’s much harder to get these jobs than when I was a teenager or even in my early 20s.
It used to be I’d fill out a paper application with 2-3 sides, some of which would just be my contact details, a couple times I filled this form out while the manager was interviewing me.
Now the same kinds of jobs require a CV, a more in depth application, questionnaires on scenarios that new starters should be trained on and personality tests, even online “chats” with an AI.
Objective-Bad-4051@reddit
Older people are working longer and debating progression of those after them. I think the public sector atleast needs to look at retire and return policies. You retire and get your pension or you get your wage - not both.
Making retirement more attractive to rise coming to the end of the careers. Give them a post work purpose and a way to completely change their lifestyle to enjoy retirement.
We continue to encourage two working parents. If we have better tax breaks or benefits to parents, which enables one parent to be a home partner, we would offer more opportunity for people to reach and gain new skills. We would also enable parents to spend the best time with their kids.
Hour-Background-7932@reddit
Minimum wage increase plus NI increases. Companies just wont pay it, they have to maintain their metrics for returns to investors so just don’t hire and everyone hunkers down and doesnt expand.
xTerminal_14@reddit
This is entirely anecdotal so take it with a pinch of salt. But i finished university a few years ago, and in the following year i sent out around 300 job apps (broad range of jobs), and I was invited to 6 interviews, got 1 offer for a temp job, and 1 offer for a permanent job (which i only got cuz i knew the guy who ran the company).
But hey maybe my CV is just shit idk.
Bubbly-Many5877@reddit
they are delicate little flowers who want to make their money online and won't do a hard days work in their life, then claim mental health issues if someone told them they need to
ExperienceNo2543@reddit
Interested to find out what you think of those who are genuinely struggling with mental health issues? From someone who can only manage to work one day a week but would love to be able to work like everyone else
Shot_Net3794@reddit
Sure we are
No-Relation1122@reddit
Significantly less supermarket jobs which used to have a large portion of younger people, less "attractions" which also had young people, less people leaving the workforce, less regular pubs.
More automation pretty much everywhere. Data entry roles are less as we have less data to enter and it's electronic from the get go.
On top of that, no guaranteed hours for a lot of these jobs. More stability in not working than working a job with no guaranteed pay.
Volunteering isn't even as easy as it used to be due to a lot of the safeguards in place, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself.
New_Yardbirds@reddit
Increasing minimum wage and NI contributions inevitably increases unemployment unless there is growth.
There is no growth for an import dependent country if the energy is expensive as a result of various wars around the globe.
My_name_is_so_weird@reddit
I’ve been unemployed since graduating, actively looking for jobs.
The last volunteering place I worked had a waiting list cos too many young people(both unemployed and still at school) wanted to volunteer there. They didn’t have enough mangers so they gave each of us about a month of work and less than 10 volunteers at once so they can manage.
I only got my current part time through my local employment centre (not job centre), and it wasn’t even advertised, only through referral.
The job is absolutely shit and soul destroying because both me and my colleagues have been long term unemployed and my manager really knows to take advantage over our fear of being unemployed again.
I still don’t feel like I have an actual job and the hours are very short, so the pay doesn’t cover anything, not even enough for food.
Still applying for full time jobs or apprenticeships. Had many video recorded interviews or online interviews, only one in person interview and 0 feedbacks. Mostly getting ghosted not even a proper rejection
LadyInAllPower@reddit
I don’t know if things are as bad as they were a few decades ago, but even anecdotally it seems on the rise. Tight job market for graduates (some say it’s the AI boom, I never know if that’s true or just the trendy thing to say) as well as lots of mental health problems it seems
Spiritual_Web_8136@reddit
AI
helpnxt@reddit
That's just how you employment has been for decades it's nothing new
ReallyIntriguing@reddit
TOO MANY PEOPLE, COUNTRY OVERPOPULATED
ScratchFamous6855@reddit
An employee has to make more money than they cost. With high employer national insurance contributions and and ever increasing minimum wage, inexperienced and therefore initially unproductive employees are very expensive. It's better for many businesses to employ someone older who will be more productive sooner.
TheGoose995@reddit
People in office jobs use AI so can do tedious tasks so much faster than they used to.
Interest rates went up a few years back and have stayed there, so business loans are considerably more expensive than they used to be, hence it’s harder to grow
Japhet_Corncrake@reddit
There are a bunch of reasons.
NI increases. Increasing automation. Rising retirement age. People needing to stay in work longer because everything's so fucking expensive.
4zzy@reddit
"Continuous improvement" - for businesses, not people.
Temporary-Prune-9237@reddit
Hard to find jobs
Puzzleheaded-Key2212@reddit
Given the NI contribution rises, which now make it more expensive for companies to hire staff, alongside minimum wage increases for under 21s, why would a company want to hire and take a chance n inexperienced young workers? For not much more money, they can now hire a 20 something who already has qualifications and years of experience behind them and be far more reliable.
The whole incentive to employ a younger person (they were cheaper before they get the experience) has basically evaporated.
Sirlacker@reddit
Young employees likely live at home. They're not /desperate/ for that shitty dead end job, they might not stick around if the pay is shit and the work environment is shit.
Older people looking for work usually have houses to pay for, kids to feed etc and are more likely to take a shit wage and put up with bullshit more because they absolutely need that income coming in.
FunkyYoghurt@reddit
They aren't active enough. What I say always triggers the unemployed but they're simply not trying hard enough. The job market isn't great but your relative is the problem.
honesto_pinion@reddit
National insurance increases and minimum wage increases along with increases in supply costs, business rates and utilities have caused businesses both large and small to cut back on entry level and manual positions, effectively there are few jobs currently for people without work experience as there are many people with work experience and qualifications competing for the same jobs. 🫤
Jamiewoo133@reddit
AI and tools are flooding job applications so a lot get filtered out and never seen. Then there's the catch 22 of if you're not also using those tools then it takes too long to manually apply for every single job just to get rejected.
Feel bad for everyone.
Bingbongbinnng282@reddit
It may be due to the fact that some employers are assholes who treat employees like shit but I know that’s not all
Bingbongbinnng282@reddit
It may be due to the fact that some employers are assholes who treat employees like shit but I know that’s not all
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