Government support for employment market 'must continue'

As the UK shows signs of beginning on the road to economic recovery, an expert has warned that a concerted effort from the government is still required in order to support the country's jobs market.

According to chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Kevin Green, employer confidence is rising and staff vacancies in British firms are on the up. However, in order to avoid a "lost generation of workers", the Labour administration must fully commit to improving the prospects of the young unemployed.

He stated: "It is essential that the government's pledge to invest over £1 billion to create 400,000 new youth job and training opportunities is met and that the private sector plays its part in getting younger candidates into work."

Mr Green went on to point out that the REC has created a coalition of employers, professional recruiters and welfare providers to help offer "practical solutions" for the issue of joblessness among young people in the UK.

His comments were made in the wake of figures produced by the confederation and KPMG, which suggested that there was an increase in vacancy levels in December. Demand for permanent and temporary staff rose at the strongest rates for 29 and 22 months respectively, it was found. In addition, average salaries for people in permanent positions went up for the second month in a row.

Also issuing a response to the Jobs Report, Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, claimed that while the employment market has "continued its journey back to health", caution is required. He pointed out that there is a possibility of extensive public sector job cuts during the second half of this year.

Young people who find themselves without work may require support to help them cope with the stresses associated with the situation, it was recently suggested. According to Sarah Brennan, chief executive of mental health charity YoungMinds, those without a role can experience "high levels of emotional distress".

She remarked: "Young people need to be given the skills to cope with the depressing prospect of not finding work, so that they aren't sitting at home anxious and depressed about their futures."

Ms Brennan recommended that the government and other agencies should provide services to help address such problems. She suggested that help should be provided to address this issue and support young people while they look for a job, noting that a variety of life skills are needed to deal with their struggle to find a job.