Young People Have Concluded There’s No Point Getting a Job
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that Universal Credit (UC) will increase in April to match inflation. Universal Credit is a monthly Government payment designed to support people on low incomes or those who are out of work, originally replacing multiple benefits with a single payment. It provides financial support for housing, childcare, disability and caring responsibilities. Alongside the increase, the Government has also announced cuts in certain areas in an attempt to encourage people back into work. However, these changes are unlikely to resolve rising unemployment rates. It is still some form of money – and a substantial amount too.
While Universal Credit plays an essential role for those who genuinely need support, it has increasingly become a system that some people rely on instead of seeking employment. In its current form, UC can function as ‘free money’ for individuals who are capable of working but choose not to. Claiming Universal Credit is relatively straightforward: applicants create an online account, provide bank details and income information, and the DWP verifies eligibility through online checks, documentation and interviews. As a result, any young person who has finished college and is unemployed but fully capable of finding work can qualify simply by falling into the ‘low income and out of work’ category. Unfortunately, this is something I am witnessing first-hand.
Many people I know who have left college and chosen not to go to university are not actively seeking employment. Despite being healthy and able to work, they have successfully claimed Universal Credit and now receive a comfortable monthly income. Because the amount they receive can exceed what they would earn in a part-time job, there is little incentive for them to look for work. Although claimants are required to demonstrate that they are searching for employment by attending job centre interviews, merely turning up is often sufficient to remain eligible. They are supposed to tell their coach they are looking for work, but this does not seem to be monitored strictly and is a point of failure in the system that leads to too many people claiming it when they do not need it. This issue appears to be growing, not just locally but nationally.
The number of Universal Credit claimants has reached a record high, with around 8.3 million people in Great Britain now receiving payments, an increase of over one million in a single year. Of these claimants, approximately 21% are in work but on low incomes while 17% are out of work. Notably, those with no work requirements often due to illness or disability account for just 11% of claimants. This suggests that more people who are capable of working are claiming Universal Credit than those who genuinely cannot, indicating that some individuals may be choosing benefits over employment. As a result, financial support is not always reaching those who need it most.
Another issue seems to be that the unemployment rate in the UK outweighs the number of jobs available, and not all these jobs will be suitable for those who can work – which further increases the likelihood of people claiming Universal Credit as they feel they cannot find the right job for them. This was heavily affected by Covid, which ruined the economy and damaged the working sector. Now, if it ever picks up again, people will not bother to switch to working as we have already created a culture of dependency on the welfare system.
The appeal of Universal Credit is clear. A single person under 25 can receive £316.98 per month, while those aged 25 or over receive £400. Couples receive between £497 and £628 depending on age. In certain circumstances, this income can be comparable to, or even exceed, that of a part-time worker, particularly for young people. These rates are also set to increase in April by at least £50.
By comparison, the average part-time job in the UK pays roughly £300-£900 per month, depending on age and hours worked. This means that doing very little beyond attending appointments can provide similar financial rewards to working, despite employment income being taxed to fund the very benefits others rely on. This creates a sense of unfairness for those who work hard to secure employment.
Universal Credit should not be abolished; it is vital for many people. However, stronger regulations are needed to ensure it supports the right individuals. Payments for those who are out of work but capable of employment could be reduced, while ensuring help remains available for those who genuinely need support, such as those with (genuine) disabilities or caring responsibilities. Universal Credit was originally intended to help people transition into work, not to replace it. In its current form it risks becoming less of a short-term benefit and more of a long-term substitute for employment.
Jack Watson is a 17 year-old schoolboy in Year 12. You can read his Substack about following Hull City FC here. Follow him on X here.
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Very interesting view from an actual young person, showing that the Marxist Frankfurt School 11-Point Plan to Destroy the West is working (see Point 9):
1. Create Racism Offences for Whites Only.
2. Induce Trauma through Injustice.
3. Teach Sex and Sodomy to Children.
4. Undermine Parents’ and Teachers’ Authority.
5. Force Mass Immigration to Destroy Ethnic Identity.
6. Create Confusion by Continual Change.
7. Empty the Churches.
8. Encourage Crime to Destabilize Society.
9. Create Dependency on the State by Welfare Benefits.
10. Promote Drugs, Pornography and Alcoholism.
11. Encourage the Breakdown of the Family.
The battle against the West has been relentless and began a while back. The techniques have not changed. By psychopolitics create chaos. Leave a nation leaderless. Kill our enemies. And bring to Earth, through Communism, the greatest peace Man has ever known Lavrentiy Beria If we can effectively kill the national pride and patriotism of just one generation, we will have won that country. Therefore we must continue propaganda abroad to undermine the loyalty of citizens in general and of teen-agers in particular. Lavrentiy Beria To produce a maximum of chaos in the culture of the enemy is our first most important step. Our fruits are grown in chaos, distrust, economic depression and scientific turmoil. At least a weary populace can seek peace only in our offered Communist State, at last only Communism can resolve the problems of the masses. Lavrentiy Beria And to anyone who still disagrees with me, I say that you no longer matter. We are now educating your children. A. H. By the skilful and sustained use of propaganda one can make people see heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise A. H. (Gays for Palestine comes to mind or the Feminists support… Read more »
Maybe some young people, not all. My mid-20s daughter has been working very hard to find another job after her contract ended, attended dozens of interviews, made many times more applications, working on personal projects in her field to improve her credentials, attended networking events, reached out to people online, explored relevant contacts through friends and ex colleagues, reached out to recruiters, done interview prep, followed up on rejection feedback.
The numbers quoted for Universal Credit may well be better than a part time job, but how can people afford to live on part time job wages unless they are living with their parents?
I’m sure there are serious problems and that the article highlights these, and I would not disagree with the solutions proposed (would probably go further) but I think the headline is somewhat hyperbolic.
I would not disagree with the solutions proposed
| Payments for those who are out of work but capable of employment could be reduced
Jobs don’t magically appear just because people someone considers to be capable of working get punished for that. That’s a dubious idea and it shouldn’t just be implemented because someone conjectures or believes that JobCentre employees are not doing their jobs properly and conjectures or wrongly believes that someone who could get £600 by working would prefer to idle¹ for £200 less. This suggests a somewhat surreal idea of the everyday value of money.
¹ Some people obviously do that, eg, the class of ‘homeless’ professional beggars. But these are hopelessly antisocial. Normal people don’t do that.
True – though it depends on exactly what is meant by “capable of employment”. The elephant in the room is imported cheap labour.
I think – but that’s just a theory of mine – the elephant in the room is mainly importing qualified staff from overseas instead of training young people locally.
In Germany, teenagers who aren’t heading for university are usually expected to pick a profession when 16 and will then undergo 2½ – 3 years of training for it. This happens partially in businesses where they’re supposed to learn the practical aspects of their profession and partially at special schools called Berufsschulen (literally school of professions). They start as Lehrling/ Azubi¹ (trainee, usually called Stift) and end as Gesellen (journeymen) who are considered fully capable dependent members of the workforce of a certain profession. Most of the time, they’ll continue working for
the company which trained them and in many cases, will continue to work there until retirement about 45 – 47 years later.
In Britain, people are routinely making noises about how training programmes ought to be improved or created to deal with youth unemployment but in the end, institutional inertia and dishing out work visa to avoid the cost of actually doing so always wins.
¹ Auszubildender, person who is to be trained.
Yes, those are all good points.
People who are out of work in Germany get up to €563/ month and this is considered a meager allowance. That’s £488.15 and the cost of living in Germany is way below the cost of living in the UK (a popular complaint in Germany is that €5 for a pint – £4.34 – is way beyond reasonable. The cheapest non-Wetherspoon pint one can buy in Reading is a Carling for £5 – €5.77 – in the Hollywood Bowl).
The British welfare state is anything but generous to singles who are dependent on it. Also, there’s a big difference between having £13 per day (£400/ month) and having £20 (£600/ month) per day. That’s just something people who never had to count every penny (I did in the past, including collecting return bottles for money, eating whatever food somebody left on a McDonalds tray etc, all while I was working full-time in the mother of all shit jobs) don’t appreciate.
Once in receipot of benefits many other things come free of cheaply, courtesy of thee and me.
I’m puzzled that the comparisons are for part-time work. Doesn’t anyone work full-time anymore? Genuinely, I don’t get this, I suppose they must be living at home still, possibly for free? There’s not much room in these figures for anything else.
At some point though, surely, you’re going to wake up and decide you want more of something and find you can’t get it because you’ve lived without working for five years and have no skills that anyone wants?
Surely…
Can you blame them? If, aged 19, I could have got a modest income for doing nothing, I would have (being an idler by inclination). But in those days – 50+ years ago – you couldn’t just leave school and go straight on the dole. Alas…
Up to a point, I suppose, but…
Is there really no ambition to do anything but sit on a sofa for the rest of your life? And, why do they believe everyone else should pay for it?
🤷🏼
Job Alert: There are vacancies at No10 and No11 Downing Street and the Foreign Office
There *should* be vacancies there…
A work ethic is inculcated in someone when they are a child. If they reach college-leaving age and do not have a work ethic they are not going to suddenly develop it.
Unfortunately, all the things that developed a work ethic have been largely closed down: regular household chores; Bob a Job; car cleaning; newspaper rounds; baby-sitting; Saturday jobs; school holiday jobs etc.
And when there is a multitude of “free entertainment” in the form of various screens plus “free” living in the family home, a life which consists of £400 a month pocket money for doing SFA is quite attractive – for a young person who has no work ethic.
The Government should cut their pocket money. Their parents should cut the free provision of the necessities of life.
“Unfortunately, all the things that developed a work ethic have been largely closed down:” Why? Because of health and safety, safeguarding, regulations, government nannying and yes danger due to the introduction of uncounted feral r@pe jihadists to our streets.
Very good point. I see a lack of work ethic everywhere and not just among young people but there are some youngsters who now stick out like a ‘sore thumb’ as good workers and they are the exception when they used to be the norm.
My 20 year old grand-daughter stopped university after one month as she realised she was not up to it and took on a 2 year hospitality apprenticeship and while hard work, she has found it very rewarding and importantly, it has taught her discipline in maintaining the the work requirements
As an ex dairy farmer, I believe that it is not just a work ethic but self discipline that is required and I see precious little of that in the general public.
That’s certainly true: If you’re living rent-free in somebody else’s accomodation possibly, even eat at his table, £400/ month is a handy amount of pocket money. I don’t know how that’s in Britain but in Germany, teenagers are expected to start working part time to learn a profession from 16 onwards and it’s not uncommon for their parents to pocket a sizable part of their wages to make them at least contribute to their own upkeep. This is also socially not always possible. In 1998, after an abortive business venture with a pal of mine, I was working halfway irregularly¹ in a food production factory and living with my parents. Because of constant serious quarreling with my father, I then decided to move to the next larger city and somehow survive by working. While I have been effectively out of work since May last year, this has worked out so far and I’m hopeful to find another job before my savings run out in a few years time. Under no circumstances do I plan to live from benefits when it can be at all avoided. Never did this and don’t ever want to. ¹ Nominally, this was a job below… Read more »
Whilst there are many who simply do not wish to work, here’s a few facts UC for someone over 25 is £100 a week, so out of £400 you are supposed to pay gas/electric, water rates, food clothes, phone etc, so hardly living the life of Reilly, here is why people mainly dont work, because the DWP take 55p off of every £1 you earn, so obs if you earnt £400 a month, you would actually be worse off, always assuming you could find a job in the first place, given most hospitality jobs are primarily aimed at younger ones, older people do struggle to get a job, and the older you get the worse it gets, there are more facts that people simply not wanting to work, it has to pay to work, and thanks to this Gov it clearly doesnt.
“The difference between a Welfare State and a Totalitarian one is ——A Matter of time”
There is a strong impression that the government is on the side of the welfare recipient and against the taxpayer
No! – Young people have been primed and educated to conclude there’s no point getting a job. I recall teachers in London in the 1990s pushing such ideas, including to black students.