Steep drop in youth jobs

Oct 26 2011 Bromborough and Bebington News

MY WORK brings me into contact with many young people and I am very concerned by the latest sharp rise in youth unemployment.

Many people know someone who’s just left school or university and can’t get work.

This is reflected in the fact that The Office of National Statistics has recently reported that amongst 16-24 year olds in Britain, unemployment now stands at 991,000 or 21.3%, the highest level since comparable records began in 1992.In Wirral alone last month there were 3,185 people aged 18-24 claiming Job Seekers Allowance, equating to over 12% of all those in that age group locally.

With the axing of the Future Job Fund, it is all the more important that young people have access to high quality training and a root to a secure financial future. For this reason, I will continue to work with local employers in seeking to increase the number of apprenticeships available locally but that alone will not be enough.

That is why I will be backing Labour’s five point plan for jobs and growth. The plan calls for 100,000 jobs for young people, the bringing forward of investment projects such as new school buildings and a temporary reverse of the increase in VAT imposed by the coalition government. The plan also seeks to further cut VAT on home improvements to 5 per cent for one year and to give small firms tax breaks for employing extra workers.

The UK is not alone amongst countries in needing to reduce its debt but achieving this goal will be much harder the more people there are out of work claiming benefits rather than paying taxes.

I know just how worrying a time this is for families, many of whom are having to face increased costs for essentials such as food and heating. For this reason I believe a tax on bank bonuses with the money collected being used to steer our way to recovery is the right answer for the UK at this time.”