Press Story

Reacting to today's fall in unemployment figures, the think tank IPPR says vulnerable groups are still finding it difficult to find work, and government needs to support them with a job guarantee.

Tony Dolphin, IPPR Chief Economist, said:

"Today's labour market figures are more good news, with employment increasing sharply and unemployment falling. The rapid increase in employment - at a time when the economy is not growing - continues to be a puzzle, but is welcome nonetheless.

"But, despite the rises in employment, unemployment is still 2.5 million, higher than it was two years ago. And vulnerable groups are still finding it hard to compete. Youth unemployment stopped falling several months ago (it was up 11,000 in the last quarter and long-term youth unemployment was up 10,000). There has been only a relatively small fall in long-term unemployment. The Government needs to redouble its efforts to support these groups, who are at risk of permanent 'scarring' in the labour market.

"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:

For the full Government announcement, see:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Unemployment

IPPR's report - Jobs for the Future: The path back to full employment in the UK - is available from http://www.ippr.org/publications/55/7938/jobs-for-the-future-the-path-back-to-full-employment-in-the-uk

Contact:

Tessa Evans, 07875727298, t.evans@ippr.org

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