Adults aged 18-24 have seen the sharpest fall in their job prospects of all age groups and 395,000 more jobs are needed before youth unemployment rates return to their 2008 level, the TUC says.

The figures come ahead of the latest employment data due to be published tomorrow.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Ministers never stop claiming that a record number of people are in work. What they fail to mention is that it is more down to population growth than as a result of their own employment policies.

“What really matters to people is the likelihood of having a job and for young people in particular those chances have fallen sharply in the last five years.”

The news for older workers is much more positive with the likelihood of a 50-64 year old being in work 2.2% higher today than it was in 2008. According to the TUC, women over 50 have seen the fastest rise in their employment rates, though this is partly down to the state pension age rising in recent years.

The TUC is calling for the Government to do more to help young people struggling for work.

O’Grady said: “Ministers must do far more to help young people back into work. The current schemes are clearly not working. It’s time for a bold new approach. We need to see a job guarantee for every young person who has been out of work for more than six months.

“No-one should object to ministers spending more now on a job guarantee that could provide a better future for unemployed youngsters, particularly as past experience has shown that these schemes tend to pay for themselves in the long run.”