HISTORICALLY, the absence of dole payments and a generally very prosperous economy have meant that the rate of unemployment in Jersey has been low.

Indeed, the very idea of unemployment was for many years almost a foreign concept and was scarcely acknowledged as a feature of Island life.

Times have changed and, although Jersey unemployment figures are still low in comparison with those of many other communities, they are at a record high in local terms. Far from being almost irrelevant, joblessness has become a significant social problem.

The extent to which too few jobs are being chased by too many people has been highlighted by the enormous demand for places on a new States apprenticeship scheme. Only six vacancies were available, but more than 230 young people put in applications.

That the scheme was so attractive a prospect also helps to emphasise a special feature of the present rate of unemployment – the young are disproportionately represented among those looking for work. This month’s statistics show that 36 per cent of job-seekers are school-leavers or in their early 20s. Moreover, a third of those who have been out of work for more than a year are under the age of 25.

The recession and the consequent state of the Island economy are clearly at the heart of the problem, but it is sobering to reflect on just how far we have moved from the days when the finance industry could be relied upon to provide well paid positions for those entering work for the first time.

Even when the economy shows real signs of recovery, those entry-level finance jobs are unlikely to be available as freely as they once were. Most sectors of the industry are more sophisticated and rely to a far greater extent on staff who already possess competence, experience and knowledge when they enter employment.

The Island’s rate of unemployment is likely to fall substantially only in the wake of economic recovery. However, as the small but significant States apprenticeship initiative indicates, now is the time to prepare for resurgence through investment in education, training and the development of skills.