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Back in the carefree days of the Noughties boom, Britain's youngsters were swept along by the buy-now-pay-later culture embraced by consumers up and down the country. During a decade of near-full employment, many skipped nimbly from one job - and one credit card - to another, and rainy days were such a distant memory that they hardly seemed worth saving for.
But with the supply of cheap credit drying up and a generation of school and university leavers about to flood the recession-hit job market, thousands of young people with no memory of the early 1990s recession are shocked into the realisation that the world of 2009 is very different.
Katie Orme, 19, who lives in Birmingham, says she has decided never to get a credit card after seeing the problems that her parents and 22-year-old sister have had with debt - just one of the hard lessons that she has had to learn.
Orme finished her A-levels a year ago, and has been searching for a job - and living at home with her parents - ever since. She has had to sign on to support herself and is now on a 12-week internship at the Prince's Trust to improve her CV. The trust says that the number of calls from anxious people such as Orme has shot up by 50% over six months.
"It's so hard to get a job at the moment," she says, "it's better to go and get more qualifications so when more jobs are available you will be better suited."
She is far from alone in trimming her expectations to fit a credit-crunched world: many youngsters who have seen nothing like the current turmoil have been shocked into changing their outlook. A recent survey by Post Office financial services found that most 16- to 24-year-olds believe that it will take a decade for their living standards to return to pre-crisis levels - and almost half have been jolted into cutting back their use of credit cards.
The number of under-25s out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance has increased by more than 200,000, to 456,000, over the past year, according to the latest government figures, released last week. On the wider labour market survey measure, an alarming 18.3% of 16- to 25-year-olds are unemployed.
Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, says: "Youth unemployment is at its highest rate for 15 years. Unemployment leaves a permanent scar on young people's lives and the government must do all it can to stop joblessness blighting another generation."
David Blanchflower, the labour market expert who recently stepped down from the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, says that even short periods of unemployment can have a long-term "scarring" effect, affecting people's job prospects for many years.
"It's a bit like male metalworkers from Sheffield in the 1980s - it continues for ever," he says. He believes unemployment among the young has become a "national crisis" and has lobbied Gordon Brown to act. "This is going to be the biggest issue in the next election. The danger is that we have a lost generation."
And, unlike the many thousands of manufacturing lay-offs during the 1980s recessions, he says, a wide swathe of social groups will be hit this time, from working-class school leavers to middle-class students. "It's a call to arms for their parents and their grandparents," he says. "We need to get all parties together and say, what are we going to do about this?"
David Willetts, the Conservative shadow skills secretary, is demanding public funding for young people chucked off apprenticeships by cash-strapped firms, and extra places at further education and in postgraduate training, to ease the "pressure points" caused by the recession. "The risk is that young people find themselves on the dole for months, if not years, and in the long run, their life-time earnings are depressed," he says.
Joe Phillips, who is 24, followed in the footsteps of tens of thousands of other graduates and spent time travelling abroad. "I didn't see it as a frantic rush to get on the career path," he says.
However, when he moved to London in September 2008 to try to find a job in the media, he regretted his decision not to enter the jobs market as soon as he had graduated.
"I struggled to find any paid work," he says. "I wanted to do communications for a charity but ended up doing a free internship and then a low-paid job." During this period, he had to sleep on friends' sofas and at his sister's flat to make ends meet. At one point, things were so bad he had to move back to the West Midlands to live with his parents.
He has now returned to London, filling a temporary job at the Parkinson's Disease Society which he hopes will be made permanent - but he is acutely aware that nothing is certain in the current climate.
Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), believes that the job situation facing today's young people is worse than any generation has seen for decades.
"It's a very difficult pill for young people to swallow," he says. "We already have a situation where one in six young people are unemployed. Unfortunately, this situation is going to worsen."
He points out that they will have to compete against a growing pool of more experienced workers who have lost their jobs: "They will have qualifications, but won't have the same work experience as other people coming on to the claimant count."
A recent report by the CIPD revealed that nearly half of the employers it surveyed were not planning to recruit school leavers or graduates this summer. For many young adults hit by the downturn, who are relying on the generosity of parents or claiming state benefits, the normal process of growing up has been delayed: 35 is the new 25.
While many who came of age in the 1990s were able to buy a home with a 95% or 100% mortgage and reap the windfall as it tripled in value - or, for the luckiest, stroll into a job in the City and join the ranks of the super-rich - today the concerns of many are the more prosaic ones of finding work and earning enough to pay the bills.
Phillips says there is a big difference between young people 10 years ago and his contemporaries: "We have different priorities. I'm just trying to pin down a permanent job and pay the rent. Buying a house and starting a family seems like a distant thing."
Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, fears that graduates emerging from university this year will fare even worse than Philips and his cohorts. He calls the Class of 2009 "generation crunch".
"They're the first to pay top-up tuition fees of £3,000 a year, and are graduating into the worst labour market for a very long time," he says.
Labour has already announced a number of measures to help: Alistair Darling promised in the budget that young people would be guaranteed a job or training place. However, with cash tight, this promise only applies to those who have already been searching for work for 12 months and Streeting says that's far too long to wait.
"The government needs to look again at the situation facing graduates and what they can do proactively to ensure they are not sitting around becoming depressed and disgruntled because they're unable to get a job," he says.
When top-up tuition fees of up to £3,000 a year were introduced, ministers cited the hefty increase in earning power that a degree brings, but Streeting says that argument looks much weaker in a tough economic climate. The NUS has just launched a campaign to replace the fees by a tax, which would be levied as a percentage of graduates' earnings, hitting the highly-paid hardest. "The current economic climate shows the futility of our funding system for higher education," he adds.
With jobs hard to find, young people are increasingly putting their lives on hold. The National Association of Estate Agents said last week that almost seven out of 10 would-be first-time buyers have now given up hope of ever owning their own home.
Instead of branching out on their own, a growing number of youngsters are sharing rental properties. A recent report by flatshare website SpareRoom.co.uk showed that there were 143,000 more people living in a flat or house share in the UK in May 2009 than in autumn 2007, when the credit crunch first began to make itself felt. The UK population of flatsharers has swelled to 2.8 million as renters abandon living alone to save money during the crisis.
For many, the "bank of mum and dad" is the only one whose doors are still open. In the Post Office survey, almost 60% of 18- to 24-year-olds polled said they were living rent free with their parents.
Paul Mullins, chief executive of National Debtline, says: "Young people face various unique challenges that do not affect other age groups in the same way. Often they have a large amount of student debt and are often looking to move out of home for the first time. Quite often young people are on a low income, they are at the start of their careers so their earning power is not as high as older age groups."
And it's not just spending habits that have changed: Orme says that the credit crunch has forced her to put other key life decisions on hold as well. "I can't hold down a relationship or look after a child with no money," she says. "There's no point in bringing a child into the world if you haven't got the money to look after it."
Even for those who have managed to find a job, recession has made things more tricky. "Unless something changes dramatically, I can't see myself doing all three," Joanna Williams, who is 25, says of buying a house, getting married and having a baby. "I know people who have chosen to have a baby and not get married because it's too expensive to do both."
She believes that she will never be able to get a foot on the property ladder: "I remember when I was leaving school I was told I wouldn't own a house because they were too expensive, and now I think that it will never happen because of mortgages. If you want a house by 30, it would be something that you would have to sacrifice everything else for."
She believes that the tradition of parents helping their children financially with weddings and buying houses is becoming less common as recession bites. "A lot of us would be reluctant to ask our parents for help because we don't know how stable their finances are." Williams has been working as a PA for a broadcasting company for a year and would like to move on, but the recession has made her fear taking risks to pursue her dream career.
"One of the things is that my job is stable and it's a continuing contract, but because of the way things are it makes me reluctant to move on because I am lucky to have a job. I don't want to take any risks."
There have been some tentative signs of green shoots in the UK over recent weeks and some economists have bravely begun to suggest that we may be at the end of the beginning.
But even if they are right, the impact of this 21st-century recession will last for many years. Just as the hardship of postwar rationing taught a generation of Britons to waste not, want not, grow their own and make ends meet, today's youngsters are learning tough lessons that will last a lifetime.
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回到2000到2009年繁荣时期的无忧无虑的日子，英国的年轻人被整个国家的消费者们接受了的先买后付的文化冲击着。在就业几乎饱和的十年间，许多人迅速的从一个工作跳槽到另一个工作，信用卡换来换去，穷困时期是那么遥远的记忆，他们几乎没有必要节俭。
但是随着廉价信贷供给的枯竭以及学校和大学毕业生即将涌入被经济衰退打击了的就业市场，成千上万的对20世纪90年代初的不景气没印象的年经人震惊的发现2009年的世界非常的不同以往。
住在伯明翰的19岁的Katie Orme说她在目睹了父母和22岁的姐姐被债务问题困扰后，决定不会办理信用卡，这只是她不得不吸取的严酷的教训之一。
Orme在一年前完成了中学高级水平考试，从那时起她一直在找工作，和父母住在一起。她不得不签约工作来养活自己，现在她在 Prince'sTrust做为期12周的实习，以此来完善她的简历。 The trust机构说像Orme这样渴望找到工作的人打来的电话在六个月间飞涨了50%。
“现在要找个工作是那么的难，”她说，“最好是拿到更多的资格认证，这样会有更多的工作适合你。”
她决不是唯一一个调整自己的期望来适应信贷紧缩世界的人：没有什么能比当前的混乱更震撼许多的年轻人使他们改变自己对前景的展望的了。邮政财经服务社近期的一个调查显示大多数16到24岁的人认为他们的生活水平要回到经济危机前的水平需要10年，而且几乎一半的人突然地削减使用信用卡。
依照政府上个星期发布的数据来看25岁以上的失业者和求职者的补贴的数量，去年增加了200，000到456，000.根据更广泛的劳动市场调查估计，令人担忧的是18.3%的16到25岁的人失业。
英国劳工联合会议的秘书长Brendan Barber说：“青年失业达到了15年来的最高点。”失业给年轻人的生活留下了永久性的创伤，政府应该尽其所能的阻止失业打击另一代人。
劳动市场的专家David Blanchflower最近辞去了英格兰银行货币政策委员会的职位，他说即使短期的失业也会导致长久的伤害性影响，影响人们的工作前景长达许多年。
“这有点像20世纪80年代谢菲尔德的男性金属工人，而且影响一直持续着，”他说道。他认为年轻人当中的失业会变成一个“民族危机”，并游说Gordon Brown 作出举措。“这将是下届选举的最大的问题。危险是我们国家产生了迷惘的一代。”
不像20世纪80年代经济衰退时成百上千的制造业解雇，他说，一个广泛的社会群体在这个时期受到了打击，从工人阶级的学校毕业生到中产阶级的学生。“它是令他们父母和祖父母们战斗的号令”他说道，“我们必须让所有的政党联合起来，想出解决问题的办法。”
David Willetts，保守党秘书，要求公共资金帮助年轻人找到资金紧缺的公司的学徒工作，以及额外的地方提供进修和研究生的培训，以此来减轻经济衰退导致的“压力点”。“这样做的风险是年轻人会发现他们几个月来靠失业救济糊口，从长远来看，而不是几年，他们人生会很凄凉。”
24岁的Joe Phillips跟随着其他成千上万的毕业生的脚步把时间花在海外旅行上。“我没把它当做急促的走上职业道路的的举措。”
然而，当他2008年的九月来到伦敦想在传媒方面找工作时，他后悔他没决定在一毕业就踏入工作市场找工作。
“我尽力找到任何能得到工资的工作，”他说，“我想从事慈善的通信事业，但是最终做了一个免费的实习和一个低工资的工作。”在那个时期，他不得不睡在朋友的沙发上和他姐姐的公寓里才得以收支相抵。在最困难的时候，事情变得很糟糕以致他回到西米德兰的老家和父母住在一起。
他现在回到伦敦，填补了一个在帕金森症协会的临时职位，他希望这个工作能够长久，但是他敏锐的意识到在这种大环境下没有什么是确定的。
CIPD的国家政策顾问Gerwyn Davies认为当今的年轻人面临的工作环境比几十年来任何一代人都要糟糕。
“这对于年轻人来说是一剂难以下咽的苦药，”他说“我们已经到了六个年轻人当中就有一个人失业的境地。不幸的是，这个情况还在变糟。”
他指出他们将和日益增长的一群更有经验的失业工人竞争：“他们有资格文凭，但是没有和其他找工作的人相当的经验。”
CIPD 最近的一个报告显示他们调查的将近一半的雇主在这个夏季没有招聘学校毕业生的计划。由于经济的低迷而受打击的年轻人依靠父母的慷慨和政府的接济为生，正常的成长过程被延迟了，35岁的男人倒退成了25岁的小伙子。
然而，上世纪90年代成年的那一批人可以用95%到100%的抵押贷款买到房子，由于房子价格翻了三倍而大发横财，最为幸运的是轻松地在城区找到工作，加入了超富的行列。而当下许多人关心的更平凡的事是找到工作挣够钱养家。
Phillips说十年前的年轻人和他的同龄人有很大的不同，“我们对事情有着不同的优先选择， 我只是想保住一个稳定的工作，能付得起租金，买房成家似乎是件很遥远的事。”
全国学生联合会的主席Wes Streeting担心今年从大学毕业的学生将遭遇比Philips和他的同龄人们更恶劣的境遇。他把2009的毕业生称为“困窘的一代”。
他说：“他们是一年要交3000镑附加学费的第一代，毕业时却面临很长一段时间的最惨淡的劳动市场。”
工党已经宣称一系列的补救措施将实施，Alistair Darling 在预算中承诺年轻人将保证得到一份工作或者培训场所。但是，由于财政紧张，这个承诺只对已经找了12个月的工作地人有效，Streeting说还有太多人要等待很长时间。
“政府应该重新审视毕业时面临的困境，应该主动地确保他们不会因为找不到工作而无所事事，变得消沉不满。”他说。
当附加学费涨到一年3000镑的政策出台时，部长们把快速增长的赚钱能力归结到学位教育，但Streeting 说这个观点在艰难的经济形势下变得更加不堪一击。全国学生联合会刚刚发起了一场用税金代替学费的运动，从毕业生的收入中征收一定比例的税，以此猛烈打击高收入的人群。“现在的经济形势显示出高等教育资金系统的无用。”他补充说。
由于工作那么的难找，年轻人愈加的倾向于先搁置他们的生活。全国地产代理联盟说，上周想要成为第一时间购买者的10个里面有七个现在放弃拥有自己房子的希望。
越来越多的年轻人共享租的房子而不是拥有自己的房产。拼房网站SpareRoom.co.uk 近期的报告显示当信用紧缩开始显现，在英国2009年5月住在公寓或者拼房的人数比2007年秋季增加了143000人。由于经济危机中租房者为了省钱而舍弃了独居，英国拼房一族的人口膨胀到了2800，000。
对于许多人来说，“老爸老妈银行”是唯一还敞开着的门。在邮局的调查中，几乎60%的16到24岁的人在民意调查中说到他们免费和父母住在一起。
全国债务在线（译者注：提供免费私密的处理债务问题的建议）的首席执行官Paul Mullins说：“年轻人面临着各种各样，独特的，并不同样的影响其他群体的挑战。通常他们承担着大量的学生债务，盼望着第一次从家里搬出来住。年轻人经常都是低收入的，因为他们的事业刚起步，收入不像年长的人那么高。”
并且不仅仅是消费习惯的改变，Orme说信用紧缩迫使她也搁置了其它人生关键的决定。“没钱的话，我不能维持一段感情或者照顾孩子，”她说，“如果你没有钱照顾一个孩子的话，那把他带到这个世界上就没有意义。”
即便是对那些设法找到工作地人来说经济危机也使事情变得棘手。“除非事情发生显著地改变，否则我很难三件事都做到” 25的Joanna Williams说的是买房结婚和生子。“有的人选择只生孩子不结婚，因为两件都做花费太多。”
她觉得她永远不会拥有自己的不动产，“我记得当我离开校园的时候，别人告诉我，我不会买属于自己的房子，因为那太贵了，现在我知道确实是那样，由于抵押贷款的缘故，如果你想30岁买房子，为了它你将牺牲其它所有。”
她认为因为经济衰退的打击父母在经济上帮助子女举办婚礼，买房子的传统变得越来越少了。“大多数人在求助于父母的时候都会犹豫，因为我们不知道他们的经济状况有多稳定。” Williams 已经在一家广播公司当了一年的PA，而且会继续，但是经济危机令她不敢追求自己追求自己梦想的事业。
关键是我的工作挺稳定，还签了连续的合约，但是因为许多事情的影响让我踌躇不前。拥有一份工作是那么的幸运，我不想冒险而毁了它。
英国近几周已经有了复苏的初步迹象，而且有些经济学家开始大胆的提出我们也许会在年底开始复苏。
但就算他们是对的，21世纪大萧条的影响还会持续很多年。就像战后配给的困难令英国的一代人不浪费，不奢求，自食其力，入不敷出，而当今的年轻人也吸取了他们终生受益的艰难的教训。 |
