Unemployed young people ‘can fall apart’

Jonathan Townsend at The Princes Trust says young people often need help.

MORE than one in seven young people in Yorkshire often feel too anxious to leave the house, according to a report published today.

The Prince’s Trust research also highlights the damaging effect being unemployed has on young people.

Around half those questioned who were out of work feel anxious about everyday situations and avoid meeting new people.

The figures is based on a poll of more than 2,200 16 to 25-year-olds nationally.

It found that one in four young people in Yorkshire admit to “falling apart” emotionally on a regular basis and those who are unemployed are more likely to report this than those who are in education, work or training.

The Prince’s Trust’s Macquarie Youth Index report reveals more than a third (35 per cent) of young people in Yorkshire feel down or depressed “always” or “often”.

It also revealed that 24 per cent report that anxiety has stopped them from looking after their health and 27 per cent say it has prevented them from eating properly.

More than a third (37 per cent) report feeling scared about life in general.

More than one in four say that anxiety has stopped them from being able to look for or find a job (30 per cent).

The youth charity’s seventh annual Youth Index, which gauges young people’s wellbeing across a range of areas from family life to physical health, shows how unemployed young people feel significantly less happy across all areas of their lives.

The research shows that while 27 per cent of young people in Yorkshire feel “invisible” always or often, this rises significantly among the young unemployed across the UK.

More than a third of unemployed young people across the UK (35 per cent) say they feel invisible “always” or “often”.

Jonathan Townsend, regional director for the North of England at youth charity The Prince’s Trust, said: “Thousands of young people in Yorkshire feel like prisoners in their own homes.

“Without the right support, these young people become socially isolated - struggling with day-to-day life and slipping further and further from the jobs market.

“At The Prince’s Trust, we help these young people re-build their confidence and take the first steps towards a job.

“Our programmes are proven to help even the most vulnerable young people find work and turn their lives around.”

The Prince’s Trust Macquarie Youth Index reveals more than half of unemployed young people (52 per cent) often feel anxious about everyday situations, while 46 per cent avoid meeting new people and two fifths (39 per cent) struggle to make eye contact with people.

The research also shows that of the young people in Yorkshire who have experienced a setback in life, around half (47 per cent) report not having had help to overcome this.

The Prince’s Trust runs a range of personal development and employability programmes and mentoring to help young people into jobs.

Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training.

The Yorkshire Post has been running its Loneliness: the Hidden Epidemic campaign to highlight the issue of people of all ages feeling isolated.