Youngest and oldest workers 'most affected by recession'

Workers just beginning their career development path and those who are approaching retirement will be the worst-affected during this recession, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that there were 1.97 million people out of work in the three months to December 2008.

In the final quarter of last year, the rate of unemployment rose by 0.4 percentage points to reach 6.3 per cent.

Now, a report from the LGA claims that many under-25s and over-55s will be excluded from the labour market without government intervention to stymie the trend - which has been seen in past recessions.

"People in their early 20s often don't have the experience or training to get into the job market and those over 50 can find it impossible to retrain when they’re made redundant," said Cllr Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA.

"These are the people most at risk and these are the people who need targeted support … It is vital that we, as a nation, learn from the mistakes of the past and act now to prevent more people being frozen out of the job market for decades to come."