Life|Focus|6
Why jobless rate remains disaster for city’s youth By ANTHONY FISHER
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housands of young adults across Liverpool are getting ready to leave education and enter a job market that is arguably overcrowded. According to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), as of May 2014 there are 58,060 people in Liverpool who are claiming some type of out of work benefits. 18,000 of these people are aged 18-24, showing that the poor job market and its failure to grow is having a disastrous impact on young people and their ability to move forward in the world of work. Michelle Smith, directing manager of MPower People, a company that aims to empower people towards living heathier, more independent lives along-
side offering them assistance with CV writing and interview techniques, told Liverpool Life: “Employment for youth in Liverpool is shockingly bad, the only real opportunities are for Apprenticeships, but this depends on your circumstances. “I work alongside people of all ages looking for jobs and as a rule I do believe that the younger you are the more employable you are. My advice to any students looking for post-graduate work would be to just be persistent and really show employers what you have got to offer and what makes you different.” Liverpool, alongside Glasgow, Wolverhampton and East Ayrshire & North Ayrshire Mainland has been in the top five jobless areas for the last ten years since records began back in 2004. However, it has recently
been overtaken by Nottingham who currently stands as the number one jobless blackspot. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) believe that the common relation among these areas is that they have all been industrialised heavily in the last century. Liverpool has a large manufacturing base and one of the UK’s largest docks, both of these have been in decline since the 1970s and as a result cut a large number of jobs in the city that have not been recovered. However, according to ONS business demography 2014 there were 33 business closures per 10,000 population at the end of 2012 and 57 business start-ups. These figures suggest that the economy and the job market in Liverpool are might finally be on the rise.
• In May 2014, over 58,000 people living in Liverpool were out of work.
• Liverpool has been in the top five jobless areas for the last ten years.
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SEARCHING: Over 18,000 young people are jobless ©Steve Rhodes/Creative Commons/Flickr
• 18,000 young people aged 18-24 are claiming out of work benefits.
Newlyweds saying ‘I do’ to pre-nups By SOPHIE LOCKETT
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othing can kill romance like the suggestion of a prenuptial agreement, otherwise known as a ‘pre-nup’. For those who don’t know, a pre-nup is a contract signed by both people about to get married where they agree on what would happen if they were to get divorced. Here, things like who gets what and how much would they each get are decided between the
couple so that they know where they stand if a marriage broke down. It also means that if, for example with celebrity couples, one person makes more money they would not end up losing a lot of their assets, as usually in divorce it would be divided evenly between them. Some believe that it shows mistrust in their relationship, as it is almost suggesting that a divorce could be on the cards.
However, according to new research by divorce-lawyers Slater and Gordon, more than half of under-35s see the agreements as a ‘completely normal’ consideration and a third said they would happily sign one. Vicky McGlynn, a lawyer for Slater and Gordon, said: “I don’t think anybody entering into a marriage looking at it, or wanting it to fail. “The reality is, those people we spoke to are just realistic
about the possibility of a relationship breakdown and that is a positive thing, going into it in an open and realistic way.” The research showed that one in four Merseyside couples would sign a pre-nup and 35% wouldn’t be offended if their loved one asked them to sign one. Additionally, 35% would feel comfortable asking their partner to sign a prenup while 46% think pre-nups are normal now.
WEDDING BELLS: It may start well - but how will it end? © Leland Francisco / Creative Commons / Flickr
Liverpool Life took to the streets to see what people think: Darren Bell, 41, Liverpool: “I’m divorced and I think that if I had signed something like that before getting married I would’ve been much better off. A divorce is a painful and stressful thing to be involved in especially for children and I think having that contract beforehand could help.” Hannah Lynes, 29, Widnes: “I feel like if you get a prenup you’re almost suggesting that you expect something to go wrong. I understand why celebrities get one if they marry a gold-digger but I think unless a lot of money is involved they aren’t necessary. I didn’t have one and I don’t regret that decision.” Catherine Brady, 22, Manchester: “I’m in two minds about it. My first feelings are like ‘You should trust your partner enough to be able to not have a contract’, but then, if I actually come to separation through no fault of my own it would be sensible to have one set out so I know what’s going where.” Tony Hartley, 70, Liverpool: “I’ve been married for 50 years. In my day there was nothing like one of those contracts. If you were married you were married and that was that. I’ve been married for 50 years now and I don’t think my wife and I would’ve even considered an agreement like that even though we were quite young.”
Jade Glasgow, 21, Manchester: “Although some people might think that signing a prenup undermines the importance of marriage, getting a divorce is often about whose fault it is and people end up getting aggressive and bitter. For that reason I think I would personally prefer to sign a prenup.”
Danielle Broadhead, 31, Birkenhead: “I’m all for them! I’ve always told my partner that if we ever get married he should get one. If you love someone, their financial position shouldn’t matter and if they love you and want to take care of you there are ways to ensure that in death. I’m a firm traditionalist in ‘til death do us part’ and all that!”
Keith O’ Connor, 22, Liverpool: “If I was to marry Selena Gomez, for example, I’d understand she’d want to keep her millions she had before so I would. If I was a footie player marrying a normal girl with no job I’d get one to protect my money and assets. For me, if I just got married now to someone normal I feel like we wouldn’t need a prenup because we’d be creating our own life together.” Pic © Joe Christian Oterhals / Creative Commons / Flickr RESEARCH: Divorce books Pic © Daniel Oines / Creative Commons / Flickr