Youth unemployment nearly a million
by The Press Association - 13/04/2011
"Youth unemployment has edged closer to a million and the number of women claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has reached a near 15-year high, new figures have shown."
The jobless total fell by 17,000 in the quarter to February to 2.48 million, the first reduction since last autumn, but the numbers claiming job-related benefits rose. The so-called claimant count increased by 700 last month to 1.45 million, including 462,300 women, the highest figure since October 1996. The number of jobless 18 to 24-year-olds increased by 12,000 over the quarter to 963,000, while the total for 16 and 17-year-olds increased by 14,000 to 218,000, the highest since records began in 1992.
The Department for Work and Pensions pointed out later that although the quarterly figure was up, the total number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds had actually fallen from last month's figure of 974,000 to 963,000.
The data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 to 1.45 million and increased by 14,000 for women to just over a million. Changes to benefit rules have seen women switching from income support to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) over the past two months. The number of female claimants has now increased for nine months in a row and fallen for men for 14 consecutive months.
Employment has increased, showing a 143,000 rise to 29.23 million, although the figure is still 331,000 below the pre-recession peak reached in May 2008. The latest increase was driven by full-time employment which rose by 140,000, the biggest rise in this group for four years.
The number of people classed as economically inactive fell by 71,000 to 9.3 million following a 48,000 reduction in those listed as having a long-term illness. Public sector employment fell by 45,000 to 6.2 million over the final quarter of 2010, while workers in private firms increased by 77,000 to just under 23 million.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "These figures are another step in the right direct direction. It's good news to see a rise in the number of full-time jobs in the private sector and the fall in unemployment is welcome."
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "The Government, which itself has cut over 220,000 public sector jobs, is devoid of any understanding of the misery it is creating in not dealing with unemployment as the number one priority. The Government is ignoring the costs of the social breakdown that is a consequence of mass youth unemployment."
The Press Association
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