Panorama - Return of the real apprentices

Panorama follows the fortunes of four young people searching for work in Swindon. The programme first met them in 2007 and set them real-life Apprentice-style work challenges, with dramatic results. Since then the recession has struck, and hit Swindon - and their prospects - hard. How have they responded?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s5xsn

Presentation on Unemployment

http://www.tutor2u.net/economics/presentations/a2economics/macro/UnemploymentUK/player.html

Panorama - What future for Kurt?

Panorama investigates whether the government can fulfil its goal of ending "postcode poverty" within two decades. Following Kurt's family as they try to work their way out of a poor estate in one of Britain's most prosperous counties.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_4370000/newsid_4372500/4372598.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&nol_storyid=4372598&bbcws=1

Panorama - Life after Woolies

When the high street retail giant Woolworths closed down in January, 27,000 people found themselves out of work. The collapse of one of the country's iconic high street names provided dramatic evidence that the UK was heading towards a recession. Since the closure of the company's 807 outlets, Panorama has followed former Woolies staff from across the country as they desperately try to escape the burgeoning ranks of the unemployed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jw6tf/Panorama_Life_After_Woolies/

Panorama - Real Apprentices

Britain's booming, says Gordon Brown - so how come so many young people can't - or won't - get jobs? Panorama meets four young men from Swindon trying to break the habit of unemployment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6970000/newsid_6977700/6977729.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&news=1&nol_storyid=6977729&bbcws=1

Return of the real apprentices - an upate:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s5xsn

2010 update - http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8645000/8645027.stm

New Deal - how successful

Over its 10 years, more than 1.8 million people have been helped into jobs by the New Deals. An extra 300,000 lone parents in work has helped us lift 600,000 children out of poverty, the numbers on Incapacity Benefit are falling, while long-term claimant unemployment for young people has been virtually eliminated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1047694.stm

Tui Travel fears rising German unemployment will affect business

German unemployment and its impact on the numbers of people taking holidays abroad is becoming as big a concern for Tui Travel as joblessness in the UK, the tour operator’s chief executive said. Peter Long said the projected fall in gross domestic product of 6 per cent and the effect on manufacturing jobs were bound to hit Tui’s German market, which last year provided 5m customers for the group, compared with 4.5m from the UK.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cd758f5a-449a-11de-82d6-00144feabdc0.html

Job Centre Plus

Jobcentre Plus itself is “getting bigger by the day because of the recession”, says Mr Groves. With 70,000 employees it is already the government’s biggest agency, and it is adding an extra 10,000. Apart from helping JSA claimants, staff are also trying to get other working-age people on benefits into jobs.

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13788549

Q&A - why is youth unemployment so high?

Youth unemployment rates are typically higher than for the rest of the working population. Nearly 4 people out of 10 who are unemployed are aged between 16 and 24. And as our chart shows over 100,000 young people have been out of work for over a year, a figure that has doubled since 2002 although it is much lower than it was when the UK economy was coming out of recession in the early 1990s.

http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/qa-why-is-youth-unemployment-so-high/

Q&A - is roadbuilding an effective way of reducing unemployment?

Tutor2u Q&A: To what extent would a major road building project by the government be an effective way for the government to tackle unemployment?
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/qa-is-roadbuilding-an-effective-way-of-reducing-unemployment/#extended

Getting people back to work

The Big Job Hunt. Channel 4 Dispatches programme about how good the government is in getting people back to work.

http://www.channel4.com/documentaries/microsites/D/dispatches/big_job_hunt/index.html

Jobless to be made to pick up litter under welfare plans

The unemployed will be forced to undertake voluntary work including picking up litter and cleaning graffiti under radical Government plans to take millions of people off benefits.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/2440772/Jobless-to-be-made-to-pick-up-litter-under-welfare-plans.html

Jobless set to top two million as the UK economy heads for meltdown

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/14/economics.redundancy

The 'Wise' way to get people back to work

The Wise Group celebrates 25 years of helping unemployed people get back into work.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7220000/newsid_7226500/7226593.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7226593&bbcws=1