10.12.12
Unemployment to rise – IPPR
Unemployment could rise by 200,000 in 2013, a new analysis by the IPPR suggests. The number of young people out of work is also likely to rise above a million again.
The think tank has analysed of OBR forecasts and suggests that unemployment will not peak until 2014 – and might not get back to where it is now until the end of 2015.
Unemployment has recently dropped, but much of this decline could be attributed to a growth in part-time work and self-employment. Youth unemployment has fallen, but is still high at 21%.
The analysis shows that a further 86,000 under-25s could become unemployed next year, with long-term unemployment rising by 32,000 to a total of 926,000.
IPPR researcher Spencer Thompson said: “The outlook is especially bleak for young people and the long-term unemployed. Hundreds of thousands are at risk of permanent ‘scarring’ in the labour market: having their long-term outlook damaged by long periods of unemployment or by a difficult and patchy entry into the world of work.
“The Government should guarantee a job, paid at the minimum wage or above, to anyone who has been out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 consecutive months. If people do not want to take up this offer, they should be expected to find an alternative that does not involve claiming jobseekers' allowance.”
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