THE TUC has called for urgent action to tackle rising youth unemployment after the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest labour force survey was published.
Youth unemployment has hit 12.8 per cent, up 0.8 percentage points on the quarter, the stats show.
The number of young people in long-term unemployment rose by 30,600 over the past year.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “We know that youth unemployment has terrible scarring effects on young people’s life chances.
“This is not a problem we can allow to get any worse, and today’s rise in long-term youth unemployment is particularly concerning.”
The ONS data showed job vacancies falling by 34,000 to 841,000 in the quarter to September, the lowest level since 2021.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Today’s employment figures show an economy in need of investment and skills.
“Unite has called for changes to fiscal rules so Britain can borrow to invest and welcomes indications that the Chancellor has signalled this change.
“It is now imperative that we back Britain with a Budget that delivers serious investment in our industries and public services.”
The TUC also called for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to use her Budget to invest and create jobs.
“By investing in the future, we can drive growth and create more good jobs,” Mr Nowak said. “But if we want to get more people back into the labour market, we also need to fix our crumbling public realm, improve access to treatment and help reduce alarming rates of long-term ill health.”
The unemployment rate of 4.8 per cent in Wales is above the average and TUC Cymru general secretary Shavanah Taj said the figures are worrying.
“Our public services and industries need resources to overcome over a decade of underfunding,” she said. “The UK Budget later this month is an opportunity to rebuild.”
Scottish unemployment has dropped in the last quarter to 3.9 per cent and is now below the UK-wide rate of 4 per cent.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said a strong economy was needed to tackle child poverty, boost economic growth and improve public services.
The Department for Work & Pensions said it will “give young people the support they deserve to get on in life” via the “youth guarantee” and Skills England.
