Report: Million Jobless For More Than A Year

Research shows almost a million people will have been out of work for more than a year by the end of 2012, as the Government releases the latest jobless figures.

According to the IPPR think tank, another 107,000 people will join the ranks of the long-term unemployed in the coming months, taking the total to its highest level since 1995.

The report, published ahead of new unemployment figures released this morning, said long-term unemployment was the "hidden crisis" facing the UK economy.

Today's new figures followed a spate of job loss announcements on Tuesday, affecting almost 800 positions.

IPPR chief economist Tony Dolphin said: "Long-term unemployment is the hidden crisis of the slowest ever economic recovery in the UK.

"While the youth contract is designed to help young people out of work for more than a year, the Work Programme has only been able to secure employment for about a third of jobseekers on the programme.

"Unemployment is not going to fall until the middle of 2013 and the number of people out of work for more than a year is going to grow to almost a million the end of this year.

"The longer someone is unemployed, the less likely they are to ever return to work."

Meanwhile, another employment report said that older women had fared well during the "jobs recession" of recent years.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said there were 271,000 more women aged 50 to 64 in the labour market than at the start of the recession at the end of 2007, compared to a rise of 3,000 among men of the same age.

The increase was driven by a rise of 172,000 in the number of women who were self-employed, and those working in managerial, professional and technical occupations rather than jobs traditionally linked to women, such as sales and customer services.

Dr John Philpott, the CIPD's chief economic adviser, said older people had fared better during the recession.

He added: "With the modern generation of 50 something women more likely to view Madonna than 'grandma grey' as a role model, the economically active older woman is well on course to be ever more prominent in British workplaces in the coming years."

The reports follow news that almost 500 jobs are under threat after milk supplier Dairy Crest announced plans to close two dairies as clothing retailing Aquascutum went into administration yesterday, jeopardising 250 jobs.

:: Unemployment increased by 28,000 to 2.67 million between November and January, last month's figures showed, with 1.6 million claiming jobseeker's allowance .

©SkyNews