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Thousands of Hampshire youngsters face a year or more on dole
Thousands of young people in Portsmouth are facing more than a year out of work as job centre queues swell.
The number of 16 to 24- year-olds in the city claiming job seekers' allowance has nearly doubled in the past year, according to research institute Centre for Cities.
The proportion of jobless youngsters in Portsmouth soared to almost one in 20 between February 2008 and May 2009.
Simon Fulford, The Prince's Trust south east regional director, said the charity had seen a dramatic rise in the number of young people asking for help.
He said: 'Charities like The Prince's Trust need support now more than ever to help young people find jobs.
'In the past year, calls from young people to our local offices have increased more than 50 per cent and we want to be able to support those people in need.'
Centre for Cities predict the number of long-term unemployed young people in Britain is likely to treble to 350,000 by 2011.
Their report called the government's 1bn pledge to fund 150,000 new jobs for young people by 2011 merely a 'sticking plaster'.
Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities, said: 'The government is right to introduce the Future Jobs Fund at this time. But it will not be big enough to help every long-term unemployed young person. So it will need to be targeted very carefully on those young people in cities that have seen a recent rise in unemployment due to the recession.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
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