The bar chart illustrates the results of a survey showing what 1,000 young people did after leaving school between 2008 and 2012.Overall, the number of young people who went to university remained relatively stable throughout the period, while those who looked for work declined steadily. In contrast, those who took a temporary break from education experienced a notable rise.
In 2008, job seekers accounted for the highest figure at 500, whilst the students pursuing higher education stood at around 300 and the figure for those taking a temporary break recorded the lowest at roughly 200. By 2009 the number of job seekers declined to 400, whereas university attendance rose slightly from 300 to 350 and the number of people who took a temporary break climbed to about 250. In 2010, the figure for job seekers dropped further from 400 to 310. By contrast, the number of people who went to university continued to rise, reaching 400 while the number of those on an educational break increased steadily from 250 to approximately 290.
In 2011, the figure for job seekers remained unchanged at approximately 310, whereas the number of people who went to university declined moderately from 380 to 300 and those who took a break edged up slightly from 290 to 300. By 2012, the figure for former students jumped sharply to roughly 390. Meanwhile the number of latter students declined considerably to 300. Finally those taking a break from education continued to rise gradually, reaching about 320 by the end of the period.