Partner Article

Long-term unemployed set to increase

Almost one million people in the UK will have been out of work for more than a year by the end of 2012, according to the IPPR.

While unemployment fell by 45,000 over the last quarter, the think tank now believe that it is likely to rise again as a result of difficulties in the Eurozone which are affecting exports and UK industrial activity.

Furthermore, the number of individuals classed as long term unemployed has also increased to 887,000, the highest level since 1996. Young people and over-50s are being particularly impacted by this trend, which the IPPR has described as “the hidden crisis of the slowest ever economic recovery”.

IPPR research indicates that unemployment is likely to peak at 2.75 million, while the proportion of those unemployed will go back up to the peak witnessed at the start of 2011.

Tony Dolphin, IPPR Chief Economist, said: “While the ‘Youth Contract’ is designed to help young people out of work for more than a year, the ‘Work Programme’ has only been able to secure employment for about a third of jobseekers on the programme. Government policy is not keeping pace with joblessness.

“As a general rule, the longer someone is unemployed, the less likely they are to ever return to work. Being out of work for more than a year can have a scarring effect, making it harder to get a job as well as having a negative impact on one’s health and well-being.

“This means that even when employment starts to pick up again, the long-term unemployed will find it hard to compete with other jobseekers and could find themselves permanently shut out of the jobs market.”

While the IPPR recognise that it is inevitable that many people who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months will struggle to find some new ones, and could be at risk of joining the ranks of the long-term unemployed.

Mr Dolphin added: “Long-term unemployment increased by 32,000 – to 887,000 – and is now at its highest level since 1996.

“The government should introduce a job guarantee scheme targeted at this group. This would offer them a job lasting for six months that they would be obliged to take up or risk losing their Jobseeker’s Allowance.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .