Number of unemployed young people tops one million

According to the latest official statistics, there were 1,016,000 young people unemployed in the three months leading up to September. The number of young people out of work rose by 67,000 on the previous quarter. Of those, 259,000 18- to 24-year-olds have now been unemployed for more than a year.

In a bid to tackle the growing numbers of young people not in education, employment or training, the government has announced a scheme to offer £1,500 payments to companies that take on 16- to 24-year-old apprentices. This is designed to create up to 20,000 apprenticeships in the next financial year.

But John Cridland, director-general of business lobbying organisation the CBI, suggested that government should broaden out the initiative to offer £1,500 payments to any business that employs an out-of-work 16- to 24-year-old.

"These figures underline why we need urgent action to help our young people take their first steps in the labour market. A generation risks being scarred by the devastating effects of long-term unemployment," he said.

"The Chancellor should use his autumn statement to announce a Young Britain Credit, worth £1,500, to encourage firms to take on an unemployed 16- to 24-year-old. We also need further steps to reform the benefits system to make work really pay and to foster better links between businesses and schools to boost the attractiveness of young people in the labour market."

Tony Dolphin, chief economist at think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, argued that the apprenticeship brand should be reserved solely for young people aged 25 and under.

"Apprenticeships should not just be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to higher unemployment," he said. "They also have a role to play on socialising young people and preparing them for a life of work."

However, he added that government must do more than just invest in apprenticeships.

"It should introduce a job guarantee, paid at the minimum wage or above, to any young person who has been out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for more than a year, matched by an obligation to take up the offer or find an alternative that does not involve claiming JSA," he said.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, warned that cuts in the 16-19 education sector are compounding the problems facing young unemployed people.

"The coalition must put reducing youth unemployment at the centre of the political agenda," she said. "We need to see practical support and help for students such as vocational training and apprenticeships that are linked to guaranteed employment for those who complete them.

"It is a disgrace that it is almost as expensive to keep a young person out of work as it is to create a job for them. Young people are the future. Politicians must bear in mind that what they sow now they will reap at future elections."