The number of long-term unemployed people has doubled in the last two years to 797,000, according to data from the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).

The data reveals a ‘jobs deficit’ of 330,000 threatening the ability of the government’s flagship employment scheme to get people back into work.

Under the Work Programme, £3bn worth of contracts are to be awarded to private and voluntary sector providers. Job search support is available anyone who has been unemployed for a year or more. The success of the scheme depends heavily on the availability of jobs but there are currently more than five people chasing every vacancy in the UK.

Nick Pearce, director of ippr, says: ‘Our analysis shows that the government’s Work Programme could struggle, not because it is ill-conceived, but because there simply aren’t enough jobs out there.

“A strategy for growth which creates jobs is part of the answer. But our ideas show the best possible welfare-to-work service can also play an important role. What is needed is a much more local, flexible system which can offer a highly personal service to people who’ve been out of work for a long time.”