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Regional reaction to unemployment figures

Figures released yesterday show a fall in unemployment levels to 2.45 million, but the number of people claiming benefits saw the biggest rise in two years.

Sarah Green, the Regional Director for CBI North East took some reassurance from the figures, but still acknowledged that much work needed to be done to address long-term unemployment,

She commented: “The data does suggest that job creation in the second quarter was slightly weaker than in the first, which again emphasises that private sector growth must be the governments priority.

“At the same time, the data shows that pay remains restrained and working time is shorter than normal, as employers and employees work together to weather these challenging times.”

The statistics also illustrated levels of youth unemployment, with high levels of student unemployment being a particular concern. 20 percent of last year’s graduates remain unemployed, and the government are now encouraging these individuals to look at alternative methods of employment, such as apprenticeships.

Liz Field, CEO of the Financial Skills Partnership said: “An increasing number of people are looking into alternative means into employment and training.

“Businesses in the financial services industry are constantly on the lookout for new talent and they are turning to alternative entry routes as a means of accessing wider talent pools – through apprenticeships and school leaver programmers.

The FSP is now working with the government to tackle unemployment and collaborating with employers to develop frameworks to help unemployed people build career paths for themselves.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .