LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT IN DERBY HAS ROCKETED

THE number of young people in long-term unemployment in Derby has rocketed by more than 220 per cent in the last 12 months.

There were 120 people aged between 18-24 claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance for 12 months or more this time last year, but that figure now stands at a whacking 385 people.

It has been revealed as unemployment in the East Midlands climbed yet again as the Tory-led Government’s failed economic policy continues to bite across the region.

There are around 10,000 fewer people in employment across the region compared to the previous quarter, with 193,000 people now unemployed.

Derby North MP Chris Williamson is among those urging the Government to stop the rot and take immediate action.

These latest statistics clearly demonstrate that young people are being let down. Britain’s jobs crisis is becoming deep set for young people, for women, for our construction industry and for swathes of Britain outside the capital.

East Midlands is one of the worst affected areas in terms of unemployment generally, and Derby is continuing to suffer badly in terms of young people.

Nationally, there has been a slight fall in the headline rate of unemployment, but that is almost entirely attributable to improvements in London while the rest of us suffer.”

While increases in London, largely down to the Olympics, have masked the national figures, the number of long-term unemployed people has also rocketed by 22,000 this quarter and 53,000 across the year to 904,000.

The blunt truth is that Britain needs a change of course fast. We are now in the longest double-dip recession since the Second World War. The Government’s failing economic plan has pushed borrowing up by a quarter so far this year.