Political attitudes and voting among unemployed and employed youth

This study investigated the political involvement of a sample of 1294 young people aged 17-18 years old. Seventeen per cent were employed and 83 per cent were unemployed, and the sample included males and females, blacks and white. When compared with the employed, the unemployed were more disaffected with the political system, more likely to support the Labour Party, less likely to support the Conservative Party, more likely to have voted Labour in the 1983 General Election, and less likely to have voted Conservative. Ethnic comparisons indicated that blacks were more politically disaffected than whites, were more likely than whites to express support for the Labour Party, and were more likely to vote Labour in the 1983 General Election. The only major sex difference was amongst whites, such that males were more likely to support the National Front, and females more likely to support Labour. Results are interpreted as indicating increased detachment from the main political system for some unemployed young people, and with increased attachment to Labour politics among others.