Forties People

Older people who are looking for 50-plus jobs need more support from the government, the TUC has stated.

According to the body, the number of over-50s who have been unemployed for over six months has risen steadily in recent months.

As a result, it believes the government should extend its job guarantee for young people to any person who has been out of work for 18 months.

The TUC warned that if people are not helped back into 50-plus jobs, their skills and talents could go to waste.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, commented: "Every job loss is a human tragedy, but when people are out of work for over a year they risk being permanently scarred by joblessness."

Meanwhile, official figures have revealed that the unemployment rate in the UK has fallen to 7.8 per cent.

The number of people out of work for between six and 12 months has also gone down.

According to the TUC, this raises hopes that long-term unemployment is not going to be as bad as it has been in previous economic slumps.

Posted by James Strang