Young People Are Hit Hard As Youth Unemployment Rate is Higher Than Ever
As unemployment soars across the country, young people in particular are facing a future without work.
New data showed there were 156,000 fewer young people in employment in July compared to at the beginning of 2020.
In Portsmouth, the unemployment rate for residents aged 18–24 has more than tripled since last September, rising from 611 to 1,842.
Councillor Vernon-Jackson, Portsmouth City Council’s leader, said the reason young people are being hit the hardest is likely down to the ‘last in, first out’ rule.
Georgia Cook, 24, graduated from Arts University Bournemouth in 2017 with a degree in Animation Production.
She worked on a Disney Channel show before becoming a visual artist for a theme park design company.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“Unfortunately, due to the construction nature of theme park design almost all our contracts were cancelled due to Covid restrictions and I was let go,” she said.
Although jobs in the animation industry are still there, Georgia is struggling to find work.
“With no new productions being started, there are a huge number of us now vying for a small pool of jobs. Young people attempting to enter my field have it extremely difficult now,” she said.
