S2: Youth Unemployment S2.1 Economic status of young men and women aged S2.2 Regional variations in unemployment and variations within regions S2.3 New Deal for year olds

S2.1.1: Economic status of men and women aged SARs: Sample restricted to young people aged This table shows the primary economic status of men and women aged Discussion Exercise: What are the main gender differences in employment status for this age group?

S2.1.2 Gender Difference Among Youths Calculation Exercises: 1) work out the percent female among unemployed youths. 2) simplify the table by grouping together some of the different categories of employment status. (Click here for the Excel file of data)(Click here for the Excel file of data) 2001 SARs: Sample restricted to young people aged 16-24

S2.1.3: Economic status of men and women aged SARs: Sample restricted to young people aged For those in the age group, men are almost twice as likely as women to be unemployed. Conversely women are much more likely to be classified as other inactive many of these will be at home caring for young children. Recoding economic status in this way obscures the fact that young women are more likely to be in Part-time employment than young men (6% vs. 2%).

S2.2.1: Youth unemployment by region 2001 SARs: Sample restricted to young people aged This bar chart shows that there is considerable variation in rates of youth unemployment by region. Which region has the highest rates of youth unemployment? Which two regions have the lowest rates of youth unemployment? Within each region there is also likely to be considerable variation in rates of unemployment. Choose one region to look at in more detail and produce a bar chart to examine male unemployment rates in each area within that region.

S2.2.2: Variations in unemployment rates within each region The bar chart on slide provides useful information about the overall rates of unemployment in each region. However, it does not reveal the amount of variability in unemployment rates within each region. Box plots provide a useful graphical display of both the level and spread of unemployment rates within each of the SARs regions.

S2.2.3 The anatomy of a box-plot Median Upper quartile Lower quartile Box plots provide an effective way of summarising both the level and spread of a distribution.

S2.2.4: Regional variation in unemployment rates (men) What do the box- plots opposite suggest about the level and variation in unemployment rates for young men for each of the 12 regions? Source: Individual SAR 2001 Base UK resident men aged 16-24

S2.2.5 Regional variation in unemployment rates (women) What do the box- plots opposite suggest about the level and variation in unemployment rates for each of the 12 regions? Source: Individual SAR 2001 Base UK resident women aged 16-24

S2.3 New Deal for year olds Since 1997, the UK Labour Government has had a Welfare to Work Strategy called The New Deal for Year Olds. Unemployed year olds are given the option to –Work in the voluntary sector for 6 months –Work with the Environment task force –Enter full-time education and training Additional special services for the over-25s and over-50s are explained in the web pages of the Governments policy unit. The New Deal Website is at New European legislation since 2000 begins to make age- based discrimination illegal (coming into effect later in the UK)

S2.4 References on Youth Unemployment Sunley, P., Martin, R., and Nativel, C. (2001) Mapping the New Deal: local disparities in the performance of Welfare-to-Work. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 26 (4): Kalwij A.S. (2004) Unemployment experiences of young men: on the road to stable employment? Oxford Bulletin Of Economics And Statistics 66 (2): Narendranathan, W. and Elias, P. (1993) Influences Of Past History On The Incidence Of Youth Unemployment - Empirical-findings For The UK. Oxford Bulletin Of Economics And Statistics 55 (2): McDowell, L. (2005) Love, money, and gender divisions of labour: some critical reflections on welfare-to-work policies in the UK. Journal Of Economic Geography 5 (3): McDowell, L. (2003) Masculine identities and low-paid work: Young men in urban labour markets. International Journal Of Urban And Regional Research 27 (4): 828-