‘Emergency’ warning as bill for young jobless forecast to hit £4.8bn

A commission chaired by Labour MP David Miliband identified 600 youth unemployment “hotspots”, many across Yorkshire, in which the proportion of young people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance is twice the national average.

In areas of Bradford, Sheffield, Leeds and Doncaster, one in eight people under 24 are claiming benefit – double the average in the UK. The commission estimates at least one in four young people in these areas will not be in employment, education or training (NEET).

In St Andrew’s in Hull, which is one the 20 most hard-hit neighbourhoods in Britain, one in five young people are claiming benefit.

Mr Miliband said: “I think there are three really big problems. First we have got to prepare young people for a different world of work and we have got to prepare them better.

“Secondly, if they do become unemployed we help them back into work faster and with more intensive help, and thirdly we have got to make sure there is proper demand for labour among young people. We would like wage subsidies brought in for young people, we would like to see apprenticeships not just expanded but organised on a national scale.”

The Commission on Youth Unemployment urged the Government to do more to help young people find work, including a part-time job guarantee for those on the Work Programme for a year.

Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, which set up the commission, said: “Youth unemployment has been a burning issue for voluntary sector leaders for years now. The current numbers only serve to reinforce that concern.

“Charity chief executives are ready and willing to be a key part of the solution, but we need Government and the private sector to work with us. The current crisis will only be solved if we see this as a priority for us all.”

Bradford-based charity QED-UK said: “It’s also crucial employees in the region open their doors to the young – especially those that are stuck in a catch-22 unable to get on the career ladder because of a lack of work experience. Employment is an essential foundation for all young people.”