Latest news : Charities: Young will be tomorrow's poor

Charities have urged the government to do more to tackle youth unemployment, warning that today’s youth could become tomorrow’s poor. 19/12/2011

The warning comes after official figures released last week showed that youth unemployment - those aged 16-24 - rose to over 1 million between August and October, the highest since records began.

‘The statistics represent yet again the plight of a generation of young people who are seeking but not finding opportunities to learn and to earn,’ said Anne Marie Carrie, chief executive of Barnardo's .

‘While recent measures announced by the government to help rescue young people from the trap of long-term unemployment are a good start, more must be done to prevent the 16 to 24 year-olds of today becoming a third of those parents expected to be living in poverty by 2020.

‘It remains imperative that we do more to provide the right opportunities to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people so that they have a chance of achieving their potential, regardless of their background,’ she added.

Anne Marie’s thoughts were echoed by Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince's Trust . ‘Too many young lives are being wasted in the dole queue. It is frightening to think that more than two-fifths of unemployed people have been jobless for more than six months.’

‘Long-term unemployed young people are the most vulnerable, with many trapped in a vicious cycle of joblessness, anxiety and depression. Government, charities and employers must work together to help these young escape a long and downward spiral,’ she added.