It’s clear many young people want a job, but can’t find onepublished at 11:52 GMT 17 February
11:52 GMT 17 February
Theo Leggett
Business correspondent
The core rate of unemployment is 5.2%. But for 16-24 year
olds it’s 16.1%. It’s clear many young people want a job, but can’t find one.
While a lacklustre economy may well be deterring employers
from taking on new staff, the lack of entry-level jobs is likely to be causing
concern.
Businesses say the increases in the National Living Wage,
which came into effect in April, have made it more expensive to take on junior
employees.
The apprentice rate went up 6%, for example – to £8 per
hour. The standard rate for 18-20 year olds went up to £10.85, an 8.5%
increase.
The standard rate for people over 21 went up by just 4.1%,
to £12.71 per hour.
That situation has been exacerbated by the increase in
employers’s National Insurance contributions, which also came into force last
year.
Put simply, the costs of employing people have gone up – and
this is particularly true of minimum wage jobs. Employing youngsters used to be
relatively cheap. Now, not so much.
The concern is that by boosting minimum wages for young
people, the government may be inadvertently pricing them out of the jobs market.