Young and older workers worst hit by unemployment

Longer term unemployment among young and older workers is growing sharply, according to a detailed analysis unemployment figures today (Wednesday) by the TUC.

The TUC analysis shows that it is increasingly difficult for the under 24s and over 50s to find work once they lose their jobs. Key findings include:

The numbers of young people aged 18-24 unemployed for up to 6 months, and for 6-12 months, are rising more sharply than for the general population.

There was a 12.8 per cent quarterly increase in the number of young people unemployed for up to 6 months (390,000 young workers), and a 6 per cent increase in the number of young people unemployed for 6-12 months (80,000 young workers).

There are also signs of likely increases in long-term unemployment among older workers, with a quarterly increase of 29.7 per cent in the number of workers over 50 who are unemployed for 6-12 months.

The biggest regional increase in unemployment is in Wales (1.7 per cent).

There has been a 22.6 per cent quarterly increase in redundancies, with 156,000 posts being made redundant during the quarter to September 2008.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: ìThese are dire figures. High unemployment is going to be with us for some time now. It is not just an economic problem, but a social problem too. The rise in long-term youth unemployment is particularly worrying.

ìWe welcome the Government's decision to boost funding for Jobcentre Plus rapid response units, but more needs to be done to help the unemployed. There is a strong case for increasing benefits as part of a wider stimulus to the economy.

ìUnemployment figures are seen as the scrounger count by some and poverty level benefits are considered a way to drive people back to work. While always wrong, this argument now looks desperately out of touch. More than a 1,000 people a day are now finding themselves unemployed through no fault of their own. And as today's figures show, they face a long hard struggle to get a new job.î