ONE IN FIVE YOUNG PEOPLE WANTS MORE HOURS THAN THEY CAN GET
Young people — including graduates — are among those worst hit by the new wave of ‘underemployment’ sweeping the UK, new figures have shown. This means that while they have managed to find some work (working part-time, doing shifts or odd bits of freelance work), they are not doing anywhere near as many hours of paid work as they would like.
One in five working young people wants to get out of part-time work and those in full-time positions are not working enough hours, according to the Trade Union Congress, which have called it “alarming” and “a criminal waste of talent and skills.” The 16-24 age group is the category where underemployment is at it highest, with 13% of young women underemployed, and 10% of young men.
This seems to fit with what Graduate Fog’s users have been telling us for months. Many of you say you are doing ‘bits and pieces’ of freelance work, plus a few shifts here and there at your local pub or coffee shop. But — as you are discovering — your earnings from several small jobs doesn’t add up to a salary from one proper one.
Underemployment has grown by 42% since the recession in 2008 and graduates are making up a large proportion of the overall 3.3 million who are now part of this phenomenon. The TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said underemployment among young people was a growing concern:
“It is alarming just how few young people today are able to find a job working enough hours. This is a criminal waste of the talent and skills they have — all because of a crisis they didn’t cause.”
Just last week, Graduate Fog reported on the rise of the so-called ‘zero-hours’ contract, where employers demand that their young staff are available for shifts at short notice — but are under no obligation to give them any hours at all. But the outgoing employment minister Chris Grayling appeared to disagree, dismissing the figures by saying:
“Being in some form of employment is better than being out of work. It is important that people are taking those first steps into employment through part-time work or jobs in different sectors as it provides vital experience and skills that employers will look for when the economy improves.
“Over the past few months the rise in full-time work has outstripped that of part time and unemployment has continued to fall.”
Critics have suggested that the government has failed to grasp the true nature of the unemployment crisis unfolding in the UK. Yes, unemployment looks like it has fallen (on paper), but that only tells part of the story. As these latest figures suggest, just because a young person is ’employed’, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are flourishing. Graduate Fog thinks young people need full-time, permanent, paid jobs. Not lots of little bits and pieces that add up to far less than the sum of their parts.
*WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK MORE HOURS?
Are you doing several little jobs, when you’d prefer to have one proper one? How much are you earning — and how much would you like to earn? Are you making enough to support yourself — or are you still taking hand-outs from your mum and dad?
“Being in some form of employment is better than being out of work” says Grayling.
It’s better for the government because then they shrink the costs of mass unemployment a bit. The value for the individual grad is more open to question.
Assuming grads have made reasonable choices about their career direction (they’re good candidates for their chosen career and that career would normally offer a reasonable number of vacancies), it could be better for the individual grad to build up career-relevant knowledge, skills, experience and contacts while claiming JSA.
Employers are narrowly prescriptive concerning their expectations of professional candidates. A law practice is likely to be much more impressed by a candidate who’s provided free legal services as a volunteer CAB worker than by one whose work experience is as a part-time paid barworker, for example.
JCP advisors have targets to meet. Rather than challenge the thinking such targets impose, it may be more sensible to whistle through the JCP imposed “job hunting targets”, while putting most of your effort and attention into action that will help you achieve your own career goals.
I graduated in July and have a Saturday job in retail. My pay at the end of the month is usually around £230 unless I’ve done some overtime, which is rare. Mine and my boyfriend’s rent and monthly expenses amount to around £1500. Thankfully, he is in a full time job, as my pay hardly covers our food costs and council tax. I want a full time job but don’t want to be trapped in a retail position for years to come. If only the government invested in their graduates more and gave us a chance to prove ourselves in junior jobs in our chosen fields, instead of internships and zero-contract dead end jobs.
I find the article (linked below) slightly cynical/conspiracy theory, but I think it gives something to consider that I certainly hadn’t. I think you’ll find it relevant to the topic discussed by Tanya:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/05/tuc-unemployment-pay
This is all so depressing. Why can’t there be work for all that want it? The system has failed.
Just after graduating (from June til September) I was on an early morning shift 2 days a week at Sainsburys and – for the 6-week summer rush – 3 days a week at an acquarium. It never really added up to full-time and was only really sustainable by adding to my overdraft. And I was quite lucky to get two part-time jobs that fit together.
I was basically gambling I’d find full-time work – because in the long run living at my Mum’s or Dad’s in the country would have worked out more expensive than staying in Birmingham due to high commuting costs.
I count myself very lucky I got full-time temp admin at a uni in the September – I was starting to worry about ever getting full-time hours. And after getting that job, the temp agencies finally stopped ignoring me which they had before. I don’t think in my present circumstances I’d be able to afford to work less than about 30 hours a week anymore because of rent.