24/06/2009

Govt Urged To Tackle Long-Term Youth Unemployment

The Government has been urged to do more to tackle long-term youth unemployment, after a new report found it is likely to treble between now and the end of 2011.

The Centre for Cities reported cities like Sunderland who saw a 9.45% unemployment rate and Barnsley, with 9.13% have been hardest-hit by rising levels of youth employment.

Hull was found to have the highest rate, with 9.85% of under-25s claiming jobless benefits in May.

The figures are based on the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) figures, instead of the number of people claiming benefits.

The group said the Government’s £1 billion Future Jobs Fund, which was aimed at creating 150,000 new jobs for youths in long-term unemployment was a "sticking plaster" due to the large scale of the problem.

An estimated 350,000 young people are due to be unemployed by December 2011.

In order to maximise the impact of the Fund, the Centre for Cities said it needs to be targeted on those cities where high increases in long-term youth unemployment have been caused specifically by the recession.

Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities, said: "The Government is right to introduce the Future Jobs Fund at this time, but it will not be big enough to help every long-term unemployed young person.

"So it will need to be targeted very carefully on those young people in cities that have seen a recent rise in unemployment due to the recession."

The Future Jobs Fund is £1bn that local authorities, companies and other organisations can bid for to fund the creation of jobs for young people who have been out of work for a year or more.

At least 50,000 of the jobs created are supposed to be in areas of high unemployment.

(JM/BMcc)

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