Youth unemployment is not a crisis of skills or geography, but rather a result of insufficient government deficit spending, according to a letter published in the Guardian today. The letter argues that there is not enough money circulating to employ everyone who wants to work, describing this as a policy choice.
The author suggests that government spending acts as income for non-government sectors, and that unless the government runs a sufficiently large deficit to offset continuous money outflow from the UK's current account deficit, jobs may vanish and wages stagnate, disproportionately affecting young people.
A proposed solution is a publicly funded and locally administered job guarantee, offering a living wage for socially useful work. This system would expand during economic downturns and shrink during booms, aiming to stabilise wages. The letter also notes that the UK, as a currency issuer, is not constrained by affordability but by the availability of real resources.
Another reader shared their experience of a 27-year-old son with a first-class Stem degree who has applied for nearly 500 jobs, including temporary roles, graduate schemes, and apprenticeships, but remains unemployed.