Youth unemployment rises to record high
- 00:00:52
- ITN
Youth unemployment rises to record high
The number of people out of work increased by 30,000 between July and September to just under two and a half million. The quarterly rise in unemployment is the smallest since spring last year. But the number on jobseeker's allowance is at a 12-year high, rising to 1.64 million in October, the 20th consecutive monthly increase. The number of people classed as economically inactive, including those on long-term sick leave, looking after a relative or who have given up looking for work, reached a record high of eight million after a 41,000 increase over the latest quarter. The inactivity rate is now over 21 per cent of the working age population and the total is the highest since records began in 1971. Youth unemployment also continued to rise, with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds up by 15,000 to 943,000, giving a rate of just under 20 per cent, a record high. Other data from the Office for National Statistics showed that job vacancies fell by 1,000 to 428,000 in the latest quarter, the lowest level since records began in 2001. The number of people out of work for longer than a year increased by 71,000 in the three months to September to reach 618,000, the highest figure for 12 years.
ITN | November 11, 2009
