The level of long term unemployed, people without a job for more than 12 months, has increased to it highest levels since 1997 according to official figures released by the Office of National Statistics, with older workers being hit the hardest, with more than 50% of over-50s out of work classed as "long-term unemployed".
The number of long-term unemployed is believed to be 787,000 with public sector cuts likely to impact on this figure dramatically in the next 12-24 months.
The unemployment figures overall fell by 34,000 to 2.47 million in the last three months, with the number of people claiming social security falling by 20,800 to reach 1.46 million, with the total number of employed workers reaching 29 million.
The levels of part-time workers have increased to there highest levels since 1992, with 7.82 million involved in part-time employment with an extra 148,000 people alone in the last quarter.
