Dunfermline and West Fife MP Willie Rennie has called for the Scottish and UK Governments to invest additional resources in youth employment after figures released this week revealed that the number of young people in the Kingdom claiming Jobseekers Allowance increased by over 100% between 2007 and 2009.

Analysis of official figures by the Scottish Trades Union Congress showed that the number of 18-24 year old claimants rose by an average of 75% across Scotland as a whole between August 2007 and August 2009. In Fife, the statistics showed a 77% increase over the same period.

Commenting, Mr Rennie said:

‘These latest figures make grim reading for young people in the Kingdom and across Scotland. There is a wide body of evidence to suggest that an extended period of unemployment at the beginning of a person’s career can have a hugely detrimental impact on their future employment prospects.

‘It is clear that significant investment will be required to provide those out of work with the training and support they need to ensure that they are in a position to secure permanent employment as additional jobs become available.

‘Ministers in London and Edinburgh must take action now to ensure that young people in Fife are not left behind as the UK begins to move out of recession’.