Young unemployed ashamed to claim benefits
Despite the rise in youth unemployment*, a new report shows that some young people feel shame in claiming Job Seekers Allowance and Income Support.
The report, published today by online charity YouthNet as part of a project funded by HM Revenue & Customs, provides a snapshot of young people's finances and the mental burdens they face, suggesting that young people would rather be financially independent than rely upon the welfare system.
The results were collected via an online survey hosted on YouthNet's support and advice service TheSite.org, which was completed by 521 young people aged between 16 and 24, from 6 January to 18 February 2009.
Key findings of the survey, entitled Tick Tax, revealed:
• Two in five (41%) said they would be ashamed to apply for Job Seekers Allowance or Income Support
• A third (34%) of respondents had a student loan, and of these, over two thirds (69%) said they wouldn't have been able to go to college or university without one
• Less than one in ten (9%) of all respondents had a personal loan
• Of those respondents with a student loan (176), 64% said they were worried about paying back their student loan
• Over half of these respondents (55%) agreed with the statement: 'Student loans are the worst thing about being a student'.
Matt Whyman, a regular advisor on TheSite.org with years of experience as an expert and author on young people's issues, says: "Young people need both practical and emotional support when it comes to managing their finances, especially during the current economic crisis.
"Money problems can leave some feeling like they're sinking, which in turn can erode self-esteem, and is not a situation in which most young people want to be.
"But, if young people find themselves forced into debt, it's vital they are encouraged to seek information and advice that enables them to regain their confidence, resolve their money issues and become sound in mind – as well as pocket."
TheSite.org, run by charity YouthNet, provides straight-talking, anonymous information and advice 24 hours a day, on subjects including home, law and money, work and study, drink and drugs, and sex and relationships. Its bespoke question and answer service, askTheSite, provides young people with a confidential, personal answer to any question within three working days. Money questions are answered by trained advisors from a Citizens Advice Bureau, one of askTheSite's partner organisations.
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Media Enquiries:
For further media information – or to arrange interviews – please contact Gabriella Jówiak or Sarah Wilson at YouthNet on 020 7250 5716 or out-of-hours on 07766 660 755. Email media@youthnet.org
Figures published by the Office of National Statistics in June 2009 showed the number of under 25-year-olds out of work and claiming Job Seekers' Allowance had risen by more than 200,000 to 456,000 in the past year, while 18.3% of 18 to 25-year-olds are unemployed.
Notes to editors
1. The Tick Tax report was part of a project giving information and guidance on tax-related issues and benefits to young people via TheSite.org, funded by HM Revenue & Customs
2. The survey sample was self-selecting. Male and female respondents were not equally represented in the sample, with 33% being male and 66% female. There were more 16 to 18-year-olds than any other group (42%), but other respondents were equally as likely to be either 19 to 21-years-old (29%) or 22 to 24-years-old (29%)
3. Only 8% of respondents were not intending to attend, currently attending, or had not attended university or college in the past
4. Matt Whyman - As an askTheSite advisor, Matt writes weekly replies to questions from TheSite.org users. He has worked as an agony uncle since the mid-Nineties, writing for Bliss, 19, B and AOL UK and was recently featured on BBC Radio 1Xtra and City Talk FM (Liverpool). Matt has also written numerous health awareness campaigns for radio, The Health Education Authority and Brook Centres. He is the author of several best-selling novels, including Man or Mouse, Columbia Road and Boy Kills Man, as well as the bestselling advice guide for boys Unzipped: a toolkit for life (all published by Hodder). http://www.thesite.org/about_us/partners/askthesitepartners/mattwhyman
5. Run by young people's charity YouthNet, TheSite.org is the online guide to life for 16 to 24-year-olds. With over 2,000 articles written by experts and journalists, a series of blogs, podcasts and videos, a bespoke question and answer service (askTheSite) and a thriving online community, TheSite.org is the central place for young people to turn to for sound, straight talking, anonymous advice 24-hours-a-day
6. Every month, TheSite.org is visited by around 500,000 unique users, and receives more than 1,000 questions on issues ranging from relationships to advice on housing. Content on TheSite.org is also available on mobile, at TheSite.org/mobile
7. YouthNet is the UK's first exclusively online charity and was founded by Martyn Lewis CBE in 1995. It aims to create a socially inclusive environment where all young adults are engaged, informed and inspired to achieve their ambitions and dreams, and does this through two award winning websites, TheSite.org and the UK's leading volunteering website, do-it.org.uk.