Workless young people suicidal, report reveals
Laura McCardle
Thursday, January 2, 2014
A third of young people who have been out of work for a long time have contemplated suicide due to feeling down about their life prospects, according to research.
The Prince’s Trust’s annual Youth Index reveals that 40 per cent of jobless young people aged 16 to 25 surveyed for the study have experienced symptoms of mental illness as a result of unemployment.
The research also reveals that 32 per cent of long-term unemployed young people have had thoughts of taking their own lives, while 24 per cent have self-harmed.
Around one in ten of the survey respondents agreed with the statement "I have nothing to live for", suggesting hundreds of thousands of young people are disillusioned with their long-term prospects.
Martina Milburn, chief executive of the charity, wants the government, local authorities and health agencies to provide greater support to unemployed young people in a bid to help them find work and reduce the risk of long-term mental health problems.
She said: “Unemployment is proven to cause devastating, long-lasting mental health problems among young people.
“Thousands wake up every day believing that life isn’t worth living, after struggling for years in the dole queue.
“More than 440,000 young people are facing long-term unemployment, and it is these people that urgently need our help.
“If we fail to act, there is a real danger that these young people will become hopeless as well as jobless.”
In response to the findings of the report, which was based on interviews with 2,161 16- to 25-year-olds, The Prince’s Trust is increasing its support for unemployed young people through its Getting Started programme.
The initiative, run in partnership with the Premier League, the Professional Footballers' Association and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, helps vulnerable young people who are Neet (not in education, employment or training) to turn their lives around.
