Press Story

Embargoed: 00:01h Tuesday 16 April 2013

Youth unemployment looks set to go through the 1 million barrier again this week, when the latest official figures are published on Wednesday. New analysis of the latest jobless figures by the think tank IPPR North, show the worst rates of youth unemployment are in London and the North of England.

There are currently 993,000 young people across the UK out of work, up 48,000 in the most recent statistics. But IPPR North reveals how that is spread across the country.

In London, youth unemployment is one in four (25.5%), with 126,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) London would need 50,000 extra young people in work.

In the North East, youth unemployment is one in four (24.8%), with 51,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the North East would need 20,000 extra young people in work.

In the West Midlands, youth unemployment is 23%, with 97,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the West Midlands would need 32,000 extra young people in work.

In Wales, youth unemployment is one in five (22.9%), with 54,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) Wales would need 20,000 extra young people in work.

In the North West, youth unemployment is one in five (21.1%), with 119,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the North West would need 33,000 extra young people in work.

In Yorkshire & Humber, youth unemployment is one in five (20.4%), with 94,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) Yorkshire & Humber would need 24,000 extra young people in work.

In the South East, youth unemployment is one in five (19.8 %), with 128,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the South East would need 29,000 extra young people in work.

In the East Midlands, youth unemployment is 18.7%, with 63,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the East Midlands would need 11,000 extra young people in work.

In the East of England, youth unemployment is 18.4%, with 78,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) the East of England would need 13,000 extra young people in work.

In Scotland, youth unemployment is 18.4%, with 74,000 out of work. To close the gap with the region with the lowest youth unemployment (the South West with 15.3%) Scotland would need 12,000 extra young people in work.

Over all, the latest unemployment figures show:

North East - Unemployment up by 4,000 to 127,000 on previous quarter
Yorkshire & the Humber - Unemployment up by 3,000 to 246,000
North West - Unemployment up by 3,000 to 301,000
London - Unemployment down by 17,000 to 365,000

Over the last year, while unemployment has fallen, there is a clear north/south divide:

North East - Unemployment down by 12,000 to 127,000 on previous year
Yorkshire & the Humber - Unemployment down by 15,000 to 246,000
North West - Unemployment down by 19,000 to 301,000
London - Unemployment down by 53,000 to 365,000

Ed Cox, IPPR North Director, said:

"The rise in unemployment in northern regions make it clear that we are a long way off any sense of recovery outside London and yet there is such potential in Northern towns and cities. Budget announcements about regional growth and infrastructure investment are too little too late. We need a much more comprehensive and rapid response to the Heseltine and Northern Economic Futures Commission reports."

Spencer Thompson, IPPR Economist, said:

"Youth unemployment is heading back in the wrong direction and looks like it could break the one million barrier again this week. Young people are competing for jobs against experienced workers with much stronger CVs. Hundreds of thousands are at risk of permanent 'scarring' in the labour market: having their long-term outlook damaged by long periods of unemployment or by a difficult and patchy relationship with the world of work.

"The Youth Contract and the Work Programme appear to be delivering disappointing results. IPPR has long argued for a job guarantee, paid at the minimum wage or above, for any person who has been out of work and claiming JSA for more than a year, with an obligation on the part of the unemployed person to take the job or find an alternative. The Labour Party has recently adopted a more limited version of the same idea. Now is the time for the government to bring in such a guarantee."

Notes to Editors

The latest unemployment figures are available from: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/march-2013/index.html

IPPR's 'jobs guarantee' idea, is detailed in IPPR's report - Jobs for the future: the path back to full employment in the UK - available here: http://ippr.org/publication/55/7938/jobs-for-the-future-the-path-back-to-full-employment-in-the-uk

The final report of IPPR North's Northern Economics Futures Commission is available here: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/9949/northern-prosperity-is-national-prosperity-a-strategy-for-revitalising-the-uk-economy

Contact

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Tessa Evans, 07875 727 298, t.evans@ippr.org