Does Thame’s low unemployment among young people hide ‘the bigger picture’?

THIS is a question Thame.Net’s intern, Will Worley, who is currently between a degree and studying for a Masters, wanted to explore after talking with some of his contemporaries in the town. Here is his report:

Image courtesy of Berkeley-Scott.co,uk

OFFICIALLY, Thame has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, but do the figures regarding the under 24 year-olds hide a more complex situation?

According to the latest official statistics South Oxfordshire shows one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Nationally, the figures have shown an increase in the number of people employed. The website of John Howell, Thame’s MP, states that the number of people between 18 – 24 years-old in Thame out of work was exactly 10 in December of last year.

However, while the official statistics are positive, it is arguable that they oversimplify the complexity of the issue. Many young people in Thame, who are not in education or training, are indeed in stable, full time work. However there are other young people not in permanent employment whose circumstances are not reflected in the positive slant of official statistics.

People in temporary work, often gained through recruitment agencies, is a major example of this. A number of young people in Thame, including university graduates, are employed on a temporary basis. Temporary work is often a fast option for individuals in need of work, and is usually low paid.

Work may be offered for a matter of hours, up to a number of months or longer, depending on the role. Jobs offered are often for unskilled positions in areas such as catering, industry or administration, among others. The quality of employment is variable, and workers often have little idea about what sort of environment they will be working in from one job to the next. Temporary work usually offers little in the way of career development or the chance to learn any valuable or transferable skills.

Furthermore, the hours of work are not always guaranteed, and temporary workers have fewer rights in the workplace compared to their full time colleagues. Temporary employees may be ‘let go’ as soon as they are no longer needed.

James, a 22 year old graduate living in Thame, has been ‘temping’ for around a year now, and has had four different jobs in that time. Like many others, James found himself “really, really skint” following university and temporary jobs, he said, “seemed like an easy, quick fix to make some money… a good short term option whilst I found my feet.” All his work has been in “low skilled, easy to do jobs.”

Due to the nature of most temporary placements, employees may find themselves stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle. They can go from job to job, lacking the resources to secure more permanent and fulfilling work. James, despite having a degree, believes he may have fallen victim to this: “To an extent, I have just gone from one temporary job to another rather than just looking at the bigger picture of ‘hey, wait a minute, when are you gonna get back to looking at jobs in your degree subject?’”

In addition, the basic nature of many temporary jobs means it is also difficult to gain any significant improvements to an individual’s CV. This is despite the amount of time people may have spent working at different jobs. As James put it: “Temporary work takes away time that I could spend drafting emails, sending off job applications and personal statements. But at the same time you need to make money. In the short term it was pretty crucial for me to get out and start making money rather than waiting for email responses that don’t always come when you’re applying for other jobs.”

While temporary jobs have their place and are preferable to unemployment, it can be difficult to rely on them for a living, let alone plan to use them as a ‘stepping stone’ to a secure job. Yet, many people see little alternative to them in the current competitive job market, particularly when money is tight. For those who work in temporary jobs and still struggle to make ends meet, the prospects can seem little better than being unemployed.

Another group of young people not included in the unemployment figures are those who work at more than one job in order to get by. Their employment may consist of two or even three part- time jobs, or working part time in addition to a low paid, full time job.

This is the case for Lizzie. She is 23 years old and has been working at different part- time jobs on a full- time basis since leaving school. She would prefer to be in full-time work but says that “there’s nothing suitable available for people of my level of experience and qualifications.”

Although she does have a number of ‘A Levels’ and equivalent qualifications, Lizzie reckons that “other people applying for the same jobs as me are more qualified.” In a highly competitive jobs market, her main experience has been in lower level roles. Despite the amount of time given to part- time work, the skills learnt and contacts made in these jobs are usually limited compared to what may be gained in permanent, full- time positions.

As with temporary work, the time spent doing these part-time jobs can also make it difficult to search for and find more permanent work and improve one’s prospects. “In order to gain experience and education in other areas I would have to compromise on my income. There is funding for education for people on low incomes, but I would still lose out financially,” explained Lizzie, “and the likelihood is that I would have to take time off from one of my current jobs to attend interviews, training and so on.”

So, it seems, another self-perpetuating cycle may be experienced by people splitting part-time jobs. Lizzie does feel that working two part-time positions could be a restraint on her future prospects: “It’s easy to get stuck in a rut because you become reliant on the stable income, and can’t afford to be out of work for any time to do unpaid work experience, training, or to attend college etc.”

However, there may be some advantage to having more than one job. When asked if working this way made her feel secure or more vulnerable, Lizzie replied: “In a way, secure because I know that if I lose one job for any reason I will still have the other part time, so it’s better than nothing.” While this may not be the case for temporary workers, it is a very small consolation in the long term.

A further issue is the prevalence of ‘zero hour’ contracts. These are job contracts which do not actually guarantee any work. Employees are usually offered shifts at short notice, in advance.

It is estimated by the Office for National Statistics that around 250,000 people are employed on zero hour contracts. However, research carried out by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CPID) found the number to be around one million workers. This equates to 3.1% of the UK’s workforce. It is therefore unsurprising that some argue the true figure remains unclear.

The CPID has alleged that many zero hours workers feel happier with their work-life balance than do full- time workers, and feel an equal amount of job satisfaction. The CPID also found that just over half of zero hour workers would not like to work anymore shifts per week than they already do.

However, zero hour contracts have had their critics recently, including some calling for them to be banned. The potential for wages to fluctuate from paycheque to paycheque is a major concern. The rights of workers on zero hours contracts are less than for those in permanent work, even if they are working a similar number of hours. ‘Exclusive zero hour contracts’, where employees contractually cannot hold more than one job, are seen as particularly problematic.
There have also been allegations that managers have used zero hours contracts in a discriminatory fashion, giving some employees many hours and fewer to others.

Dave Prentis of UNISON has claimed: “The vast majority of workers are only on these contracts because they have no choice.” He continued: “It is clear that many people working on these contracts are not included as unemployed even if they have no work at all – at the very least we have hundreds of thousands who are under-employed.”

Since 2008, the recession has affected the working lives of millions of people, including some in Thame. Whereas it can only be a good thing that more young people are back in work, it is clear that while unemployment generally has been falling, it has been shown on a national scale that people aged 18 – 24 years-old have been disproportionately affected.

To use the decreasing unemployment figures to claim everything is going well is to sweep the broader issue of underemployment under the rug. To consign a proportion of young people to working in low paid jobs, with little chance to fulfil their true potential, cannot be a good thing for the long term health of our society and it’s economic health and competitiveness.