Unemployment crisis for Wakefield's young
WAKEFIELD'S under 25s are among the UK's hardest hit by rising unemployment, says a report which criticises the government's 'sticking plaster' approach to tackling the problem.
Almost eight per cent of the city's young people are out of work, after the figure rose above the UK average in the past 12 months, according to the study by the Centre for Cities.
Wakefield was the UK's 10th worst-hit by the rise, ahead of Leeds and Bradford, after the figure rose by 3.41 per cent since May 2008.
There were 3,075 under 25s claiming Job Seeker's Allowance in the district last month, compared to 1,720 a year earlier, Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows.
The report, which predicts UK youth unemployment will almost treble by 2011, critisises the 1bn Future Jobs Fund, announced in this year's budget to create 150,000 new UK jobs.
Wakefield Council and community groups were invited to apply for a slice of the cash to make sure nobody aged under 25 spends more than a year on the dole.
But the report said a longer-term approach was needed, instead of only providing work for those unemployed for more than 12 months.
And the scheme should be targeted at cities where rising youth joblessness was caused specifically by the recession, the report said.
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.
"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."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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