As students anxiously await 'A'-Level exam results this week, concerns continue about economic prospects in austerity-driven Britain.
Responding to the latest unemployment figures published on Wednesday 15 August 2012 by the Office for National Statistics, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber warned that underlying trends were still bleak.
He commented: "The fall in unemployment is welcome, but there are worrying trends brewing and with the economy getting smaller it may only be a matter of time before the dole queues start rising again."
"Young people in particular are struggling to get their careers off the ground. The number of people under 25 who are neither working or in full-time education has risen again to nearly 1.5 million," Mr Barber pointed out.
"The government's response to this youth jobs crisis has been poor," said the TUC chief. "Successful initiatives have been scrapped and then reinstated with less funding. Young people are still awaiting a replacement for Educational Maintenance Allowance to support them through their education too."
"Ministers must step up job support before unemployment starts rising again otherwise help will come too late for too many people," concluded Mr Barber.
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