"Sounding the alarm over a worsening youth jobs crisis, the report from the accountancy firm PwC said Britain's economy was missing out on 26bn a year because of sharp regional divisions in youth joblessness. In its annual youth employment index, it said the UK was falling behind other advanced economies amid a deterioration in the youth jobs rate to a 10-year low while other comparable nations were making progress."
"Out of the 38 nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it said the UK had dropped four places from a year earlier to 27, losing ground to countries including Mexico, France and Estonia. Ministers are growing increasingly alarmed over the youth jobs market as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) has climbed to almost a million."
"Labour has announced plans to tackle the crisis through a raft of policy measures, including a youth guarantee of a six-month paid work placement for every eligible 18- to 21-year-old who has been on universal credit and looking for work for 18 months. Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, announced on Sunday that 350,000 new training or workplace opportunities would be offered to young people on universal credit, but added there would be sanctions for claimants who did not engage."
UK youth employment has deteriorated to a 10-year low, causing the country's OECD ranking to fall to 27th among 38 nations. Sharp regional divisions in youth joblessness cost the economy an estimated 26bn a year. The number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training has climbed to almost a million. Policy proposals include a six-month paid work placement guarantee for eligible 18- to 21-year-olds and 350,000 new training or workplace opportunities for universal credit claimants, alongside potential sanctions for non-engagement. Businesses warn that tax rises, a higher minimum wage, and employment-rights reforms are increasing the cost of hiring young people.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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