The government’s claiming it will spend millions — £500m — to avoid shelling out billions for the long-term unemployed of the future. This is in addition to £1bn pledged to help those who’d lost their jobs before Christmas, apparently.
But its plans to get the long-term unemployed back into work raise more questions than they supply answers.
- Who benefits from the £2,500 ‘golden hellos’ on offer? How does a small incentive to hire and train someone new help employers that are reluctantly laying off existing (trained, qualified) employees already?
- Where are these fabled jobs coming from? Digital infrastructure, creative and knowledge industries, bioscience, engineering and electronic manufacturing, a “world class services sector” and the low-carbon sector are tipped for greatness by Lord Mandelson. But this is jam tomorrow. Today, some 850 jobs at retailer Land of Leather are at risk, and a further 875 could go at distribution company Wincanton. It’s easier to keep people in employment, but that means ensuring banks are supportive of businesses. “The top issue for business is protecting cash-flow. The government can help by cutting business taxes, ensuring banks maintain credit facilities and delivering flexibility on tax payments,” says Chris Hannant, head of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.
- Where does this leave “Generation Crunch”? It’s generally agreed that it becomes increasingly tough for anyone unemployed for over six months to find a job. So the government’s targeting these ‘long-term’ unemployed, offering 75,000 training places and cash to help people start up businesses. But it’s 18 to 24-year-olds who are facing the grimmest prospects. By the end of 2009, it’s predicted that at least 40 per cent of the 3.1 million unemployed in the UK will be under 25.
- Does anyone remember the New Deal?
