Deprived youth hit hardest by recession
Posted 26th May 2009 14:13pm by Alison Duguid
Britain's poorest youngsters will be hardest hit by the recession as unemployment spikes and local youth services suffer cuts, a report warns today (Read the full report)
The number of under-25s claiming Jobseekers Allowance has risen 80% to more than 450,000 in the past year. This costs the UK more than GBP23 million a week in benefits. In some parts of Britain - such as Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales, and Wansbeck, in Northumberland - one-in-six young people are claiming Jobseekers Allowance.
Youth charities may struggle to cope with the spiralling demand in deprived areas according to the report published by The Prince’s Trust and the Cass Business School.
Martina Milburn, chief executive for The Prince's Trust, said: "Britain's most vulnerable youngsters will be permanently damaged by the downturn, unless they receive the support they need: "We need to help young people into jobs - only with their ideas and creativity will we be able to pull ourselves out of the recession."
The report's findings show youth charities have difficulty attracting major public funding despite their "immeasurable value", with animal welfare charities receiving five times more donations. Income for young people's charities represents only 1% of the voluntary sector's GBP48 billion income, drawing just 1.5% of private voluntary donations. Charitable trusts' donations to youth charities will fall by almost GBP8 million if funds drop by 3.8% in 2009 in line with the predictions by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the UK economy.
Professor Cathy Pharoah, Co-Director for the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass Business School, said: "Vulnerable young people will suffer where need is greatest, as youth charities struggle to keep up with demand during the recession. The Prince's Trust alone needs nearly GBP1 million a week to continue its work. Any loss of investment will have a huge cost to the future of the country."
The Trust's helpline received over 50% more calls at the start of this year compared to the same period in 2008, with Business Programme enquiries rising 65%.
It is now launching a major public fundraising campaign to help youngsters find jobs. The Million Makers challenge aims to gain public support to raise GBP1 million to help young British entrepreneurs. The campaign will challenge 100 companies to set-up mini-enterprises to raise money for the Prince's Trust.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "We know young people are finding it tough in this recession, that's why the Chancellor announced in the Budget a guarantee of work or training for all young people if they are unemployed for a year. This guarantee is backed up by a jobs find worth over one billion pounds to give young people real, socially useful jobs with a proper day's wage."
