Half of unemployed youths believe they are doomed to spend the rest of their lives sitting around the house without a job, a new study will reveal.

The first ever census of young people who are not in employment or education is expected to paint a dismal picture of their outlook on life.

The census, conducted among some 7,000 youths aged 16-24 who are registered as no longer in school and as being out of work, found that about 50 per cent believe they will never find a job.

Asked why, around a third felt that they had been dealt a bad hand, claiming their poor job prospects were down to “luck, fate and misfortune”.

The census will be published by the Employment and Training Corporation in the coming days and gives a unique insight into some of the reasons behind the phenomenon of youth unemployment. The young people who took part in the census had all signed up for the government’s Youth Guarantee Scheme, which offers training opportunities.

Earlier this year the Times of Malta reported that more than 300 16-year-olds “disappeared” from school and employment records every year, falling into idleness or the black economy.

When asked why they were idle, around half of the census respondents said they simply did not care. The figure tallies with the findings of similar studies published earlier this year. The census, however, did not stick to why youths were uninterested but delved into the issues behind youth idleness and the wider societal implications.

Jobless feeling marginalised

For instance, around a quarter of the youths said they felt so marginalised that they did not think they even formed part of Maltese society. The same amount felt they had been repeatedly discriminated against in their educational and employment experiences.

According to the youths, the problems leading to their situation were so entrenched in Maltese society that 90 per cent felt the situation would never change, no matter what the government did.

Another major factor looked at by the study was the youths’ low self-esteem and the role this is playing in perpetuating idleness.

Although a quarter said they had plans for the future the majority felt they did not have what it takes to achieve them. A third said their confidence was too low to even attempt getting a job.

The census also took a look at the effects long-term unemployment is having on youths. Around two of every five said they had contracted some form of ailment from their long term idleness, ranging from psychological conditions to obesity and substance abuse.

Numbers falling

The number of youths registering for work dropped by one-third this year, according to the latest statistics.

Figures released by the National Statistics Office show that while 285 people under the age of 20 were on unemployment benefits last year, the number had dropped by 100 by last month.

Overall some 1670 fewer people were registering for work this year compared to 2014.

The number of disabled people looking for work had also decreased by around one-third.