The IPPR recently published a report looking at youth unemployment in London[1]. In the report they appear to recognise that inward migration from abroad is one of the factors that has affected the employment chances of young Londoners.
“Employers have also become increasingly reluctant to hire teenagers, particularly in London. Only 6 per cent of UK employers, and just 3 per cent of employers in the capital, recruit straight from school. As a result, school-leavers compete with more experienced workers for the same jobs, in addition to competing with more highly qualified young people. Despite the vibrancy of London’s economy, the inward flow of migration from other regions and abroad has resulted in a highly competitive environment at the lower end of the labour market. Many of these relatively well-skilled new residents take on lowpaid jobs while they finish their studies or look for something better , leaving those with the weakest skills and experience more likely to be ‘squeezed out’.”[2]
We welcome this apparent outbreak of common sense at the IPPR and hope that it is allowed continue.
[1] http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/9516/from-learning-to-earning-understanding-the-school-to-work-transition-in-london Executive summary page 3
[2] Ibid p.3
