Twice this year the stats I frequently blog about have become personal.
First I had to make a call to CYF. I guess it will be logged as a report of concern. They were helpful.
Second, while the overall unemployment rate grew by 0.3 percentage points between December 2015 and December 2016, a significant unemployment rise affected 15-24 year-olds: 10.9% in December 2015 to 13.6% in December 2016. Sitting in the group is my 22 year-old BA son.
It's not easy watching your kids (they are always kids to me) applying and applying and not even getting interviews. He's hardworking, self-disciplined, punctual, good-humoured, a reader and a thinker. And of course I would say all that. I am his mother. But I flinch when people stereotype his generation as lazy, unrealistic, illiterate and ill-prepared for the workforce.
No doubt, as Mr Micawber faithfully avowed, "Something will turn up."
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