Young people ‘particularly challenged’ during swell in unemployment, says CBI Director
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work in Wales has risen with 152,299 fewer from the age group in employment when other working-age groups saw rises in employment.
The unemployment rate in Wales grew the most between May and July.
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The new figures clearly show "younger age groups are being affected by unemployment more than anybody else," says Ian Price, Welsh director of the Confederation of British Industry.
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The UK has seen its highest rate of unemployment for two years at 4.1%.
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Unemployment in Wales is at 2.7% compared to 3.9% in the UK for the period of March to May, dropping 1% in Wales compared to the previous 3 months. The UK rate has remained static.
Scotland also saw a drop in unemployment, while England and Northern Ireland saw a small increase.
The figures from the ONS, using PAYE returns, also reveal 649,000 employees across the UK were removed from payrolls between March and June.
The UK government has launched a scheme called Kickstart to provide work opportunities for unemployed young people during the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim to help build skills they need to find a job. Employers will be paid £1,500 for every 16-24 year old they train.
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Welsh Government created a similar programme called Jobs Growth Wales wherein 16-24-year-olds will be offered a six months opportunity in a paid job.
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Ian Price, director of Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Wales, said: “I think the Kickstart scheme and the Jobs Growth Wales program are programs which could be aimed at those age groups because they appear to be particularly challenged by what's going on at the moment, so I think it will enable us to look at this and have a more targeted approach.
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"If there is a scheme in the future, it won't be the same as what we're seeing at the moment. I think it'll be an approach where maybe the employer takes a larger chunk, the government potentially takes up a chunk, and maybe the employee takes a little bit of that, as well.
"It'll be a shared responsibility, rather than the way it's been, certainly since the beginning of the crisis where the government has taken up the bulk of the heavy lifting.”
Price believes more catered programmes for younger people is the way to tackle youth unemployment.
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Beth Huw says she couldn't envisage a future in the current climate without a degree supporting her.
The current unemployment figures may be of limited value as the furlough scheme is keeping them artificially low, yet more businesses in Wales are furloughing workers than other parts of the UK.
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Beth Huw, from Cardiff, was furloughed from the Wales Millennium Centre at the start of the pandemic but was then suddenly unemployed: "The fact that I worked for them meant nothing, really.
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"I had an email from someone random in HR saying “we don’t need you anymore” and that was it, my job was gone."
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"It makes you feel incredibly small and unimportant."
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The impact of Covid on the arts and entertainment industry in Wales resulted in the centre's closure in March with 250 jobs being put at risk of redundancy.
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Ms Huw continually worked Christmas and seasonal periods to support herself alongside completing a Zoology degree at university.
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"I’ve been in university for the last four years and during the holidays, I come back to Cardiff and that’s when I start working.
"During this time, I do one shift a day, maybe do double shifts with matinees and evenings. I was doing this solidly throughout the week and sometimes on the weekends, too."
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In university, she occasionally worked in a bar to support herself but her main focus was education so she earned most of her wages when at home.
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"What I earned here, without having to dip into rent money and dip into mum and dad, was a really important income for me."
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Despite this, Ms Huw is continuing her academic pursuits and has been accepted for a master's degree in the hopes of broadening her career opportunities.
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"I think without my master's degree which I will be starting in September. I think job prospects would be very low."