In a depression the implicit opportunity costs of studying at a university should be considerably lower then during a booming economy, especially if you are fresh out of school. Thus such a drop is quite interesting even if the explicit cost did rise and credit got possibly tighter.
A quick look at the age structure of the UK reveals that the group from 15-19 is quite a bit smaller then the 20-24 one. It is quite a rough yardstick, but the trend is relatively well supported by one agegroup up and down. So maybe it is mostly just a 'natural' trend, one would need to dig a little bit deeper.
Interesting to see a rise in the 0-4 group. The effects of the large immigration in the last 6-7 years and the bad economy for young people? On of my sisters got the kids earlier because a certain job program at the local hospital took a bit longer then expected to get approved. Quite a few capable & educated people lost to the UK, Switzerland and Germany, congratulations.
@Thanks Fuchs: Interesting to see so many Chinese. My brother said they were rather reclusive compared to the other guys and that some cooperating companies quietly told the uni that next time they would rather have a student from a different country working with them. Stories about copied data and so forth. It is of course difficult to get an objective overview on that.
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