Unemployment

I'm stressed about finding more work at the moment. Can you tell?

Recent figures have shown that UK unemployment reached a 17-year high in June-August. 2.57 million people were out of work, which included nearly a million 16-24 year olds (21.3% of those eligible to work). For five days I was one of those unemployed young people.

I regularly check the JobCentre Plus website for new jobs. The majority of positions advertised in my area are either 2-16 hours per week minimum wage roles or self-employed things like leaflet distribution or Avon representatives. There are very few “white collar” professional jobs, partly because they are advertised on more specialised websites, but also simply that there are none around. It's probably a problem everywhere, but in Cornwall especially young people are forced to leave the Duchy to find the jobs they have earned through years of study. The reality is that companies do not want to create new jobs in the current economic climate, for fear that they will have to downsize in the future. Many new public sector jobs have to be filled from other civil service departments rather than being opened up for new people to enter the system.

Imagine an unemployed person. Did you imagine someone sitting on the sofa, staring at endless channels of daytime TV drivel? Most people WANT to find work. Trying to find a job requires HOURS of work each day. I was searching and applying for jobs for about 6-8 hours each day. It was far more mentally draining than a regular 9-5!

I hate the ever-increasing unemployment rate. There are a lot of things I disagree with David Cameron about, but one thing he said was sadly true, “every job that is lost is a tragedy for that person and for their family”.