UCU response to latest unemployment figures

The number of unemployed people aged 16 to 24 stands at just under a million (959,000), which means that more than one in five (20.9%) of the workforce in that age group is unemployed. The union said the figures were a stark reminder of just how many young people risked being left on the periphery of society.

UCU pointed to a report that warned that one-third (36%) young people not working or in education or training fear they will never find a job and two-fifths (40%) say they feel they are not part of society. More on that report here.

UCU president, Simon Renton, said: "The facts behind today's figures are that more than one in five - almost a million - young people are out of work. Research shows us the destructive impact not working or training has on young people's mental health and we need to provide them with decent jobs or routes to training and education.

"If we don't improve opportunities for our young people, we risk relegating hundreds of thousands of them to the periphery of society."

The full figures are available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_315111.pdf