Study shows impact of education on escaping unemployment

The importance of having a Leaving Certificate or a higher qualification in reducing the risk of a young person becoming either unemployed or failing to take up training or further education has become stronger since the economic crisis.

A new study carried out by researchers at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on the impact of the recession, shows younger people were adversely affected with the youth unemployment rate rising from 9.9 per cent in 2006 to 33 per cent in 2012.

According to the research, the proportion of unemployed youths with no formal education rose during this period as did the percentage that were long-term unemployed and those classified as Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET).

Data from the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Quarterly National Household Survey shows that prior to the downturn, young women were more likely to be unemployed than men, a situation that has now been reversed.

The study also found that there was a dramatic reduction in the percentage of both unemployed and NEET youths who moved into employment between 2006 and 2011: from 38 per cent to 17.4 per cent for unemployed youths and from 21.4 per cent to 13.6 per cent for NEET individuals.

The negative effect of having low levels of educational attainment (Junior Certificate or less) on finding a job has become stronger since the recession; while a Post-Leaving Cert (PLC) level qualification (which includes apprenticeships) is no longer as important for unemployed youths in securing employment.

ESRI said the reduction in the impact of a PLC qualification is most likely due to the “substantial fall” in the demand for vocationally qualified labour in construction and related sectors that took place during the recession years.

The analysis shows that the decline in the number of unemployeed and NEET youths finding work between 2006 and 2011 was not driven by factors such as a greater proportion of individuals with lower academic achievements but by the fact that PLC qualifications were not as highly valued.