Devastating new unemployment statistics has caused alarm after Newham toped the Capital’s jobless league table.

Dire new unemployment statistics has caused alarm after Newham toped the Capital’s jobless league table.

The figures stoked fears of a lost generation as joblessness among 16 to 24-year-olds rose again to 3,420, in September, this year – a jump of 60 in a single month, according to the Office for National Statistics data published on Wednesday (October 12).

Total unemployment among people aged 16 to 64 in the borough also makes for grim reading, with 14.4per cent or 14,900 out of work – two per cent more than next worse Barking and Dagenham and the highest seen for decades.

Nearly 12,000 or 7.5 per cent of people are collecting Jobseeker’s Allowance – the highest percentage found across London.

All while fewer than 3,000 job vacanies exist within Newham, the statistics revealed.

Martina Milburn, chief executive of youth charity The Prince’s Trust, said: “The number of unemployed young people is now almost twice the population of Manchester. If we fail to tackle youth unemployment now, we risk losing this talent forever which would be a tragedy.

“At The Prince’s Trust, the number of calls to our helpline has more than doubled in the past six months alone. We need Government and employers to work with us to turn these young lives around.”

East Ham MP Stephen Mimms said Newham’s overall figures were not reflected across all constituencies – East Ham seeing the 50th highest rate of unemployment across the country, compared to West Ham which which ranked 17th nationwide highest.

But the Labour MP added: “These are worrying statistics – the whole direction of unemployment is deeply worrying, but the position of Newham is of particular concern.

“When the Government set out on the course it’s on at the moment, they said, yes, there would be a reduction in public sector jobs, but that would be ok because there would be an increase in private sector jobs. We have not seen this.

He called on the Government to guarantee jobs for young people via state sponsored placements, to give them a step onto the work ladder.

“The Government needs to reintroduce the kind of young persons’ guarantee that was in place, up to the election. Under this, young people out of work for more than a year were guaranteed a job or work placement, paid for by the Future Jobs Fund.