As youth unemployment rises yet again, graduates have been advised to concentrate on developing relevant skills to land roles, according to Charles Logan, director at recruitment giant Hays.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed the unemployment total for 16-24-year-olds hit a record high of 991,000 in the quarter, while the number of people out of work and claiming benefits rose 17,500 to 1.6m in September.

Logan told Recruiter: “An increase in youth unemployment is yet another worrying sign of our economic instability. It is difficult for companies to continue to invest in the next generation of workers when resources are so stretched and there is talk of a double dip, but it is critical if we are to avoid a generation out of work and skill shortages further down the line.

“Sadly, it also seems that the high unemployment levels are masking the true situation in the nation’s workplaces. Research we have launched today shows that two-thirds (67%) of Britain’s workers would move on if they could find a better job. This shows the dual impact of the recent challenging climate and just how stretched and unhappy many workers are – even if they are fortunate enough to be employed.

Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), says: “These labour market figures are truly horrific, with the economy shedding almost 15,000 jobs each week between June and August. The quarterly rise in unemployment is reminiscent of an economy in recession rather than any kind of recovery and confirms that the private sector just isn’t creating enough jobs at present to offset public sector job cuts.

“With 5.6 unemployed people for every job vacancy the labour market is back to where it was in the depths of recession in 2009 and the underlying problem is getting even worse given that one in three unemployed people have now been without work for over a year. Many more months like this and we’re likely to see the re-emergence of the kind of ‘Gissa Job’ economy that scarred Britain in the 1980s and 1990s.”

Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of policy and professional services, Tom Hadley, says: “This increase is one of the most substantial in recent years and shows a worrying return to the levels of unemployment we saw at the height of the recession.

“However, we are continuing to see significant demand for staff in a number of sectors. As well as stimulating growth, the challenge for government is to address the persistent mismatch between available skills and business needs.

“With youth unemployment creeping ever closer to the 1m mark, we need tangible action from government such as the NICs holiday for firms taking on young jobseekers. The business community must also play its part by raising awareness in schools and helping to build better bridges into the world of work.”

Ian Brinkley, centre director at The Work Foundation, says: “Unemployment among young people between the ages of 18 and 24 is increasing twice as fast as for the workforce as a whole and there has been a dramatic increase in long-term (>12 months) youth unemployment.

“The main mitigating factor in today’s figures is that total hours worked has remained stable, with most of the job losses being part time. People still in work seem to be increasing their hours at the same time as the workforce contracts.”

Daniel Callaghan, director of recruitment service, MBA & Co, says: “These figures will make extremely grim reading for the UK’s jobseekers, as well as those facing the threat of redundancy.

“Companies are cautious about hiring full-time employees, which is understandable given that, at the moment, the economy is unpredictable at best. Businesses do not have the time or the money to invest in training graduate employees, and this is reflected in the rise in youth unemployment.”