Scottish suicides

The true depth of the problems facing Scotland's young unemployed has been laid bare in a report which reveals that more than a quarter are so depressed they have contemplated suicide. Others turn to drink or drugs in the face of serial rejection and bleak prospects, according to The Future You.

28 per cent said they had contemplated suicide. A third of Scots often felt their "life was being wasted", while two-thirds said being classed a "Neet" - Not in Education, Employment of Training - made them "feel bad about themselves".

Citizens Advice Scotland found the unemployment rate for young people to be around 20 per cent, almost three times the overall figure.

The human impact of the recession was also laid bare by new research showing the number of suicides during the economic crisis increased by as much as 29% in parts of the U.K. and also spiked in the worst affected countries in the European Union. The increase in suicides was most apparent in countries that had been badly affected by the financial crisis: Greece and Ireland. In those countries, the number of suicides increase by 17% and 13% respectively between 2007 and 2009.

Dr David Stuckler, from the University of Cambridge in the U.K, one of the researchers, said: "There was a complete turnaround. Suicides were falling before the recession, then started rising in nearly all European countries studied. Almost certainly these rises are linked to the financial crisis..."