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UK employment rates have hit a low point – but is it a good thing?

UK unemployment rates have dropped to the lowest level in 50 years, according to the Office of National Statistics.

However, just because more people are being employed, perhaps it doesn’t mean people are getting the right jobs for them. A young retailer in Leeds Kirkgate Market certainly seems to think so.

“It’s really busy in here,” the trader who preferred to remain anonymous told Yorkshire Voice. “It gives me anxiety sometimes, but you have to get on with it.

“It’s better working in other shops like Primark, it’s quite stressful here.

“This is for people that are trying to work their way up and then they move out and get a bigger shop.

“You might as well work for Primark. Don’t work in the market, not as a part-time job.”

Primark is one of the largest retailers in the UK, with a total of 154 stores in the UK alone, making up the 407 stores they have worldwide, employing around 71,000 employees as of 2021, which certainly shows that companies such as Primark have no shortage of opportunities for young people to work for them, especially in the UK with most of its stores being set up there.

The comments put forward by our young retailer calls into question whether bigger brands such as Primark can offer better opportunities to young people as opposed to them working in independent shops, and despite unemployment being the lowest ever, perhaps young people should consider whether the jobs available are the best for them.

What do you think?