The North West will see the biggest rise in unemployment over the next year, a think-tank has claimed.
The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) North has predicted 64,000 extra people will be out of work in the region by the end of 2013.
The rise will be higher than London where it predicts jobless numbers will rise by 53,000 during the year while it says unemployment will fall by 11,000 in the West Midlands.
It is expected unemployment figures published on Wednesday will show a fall in unemployment statistics.
IPPR researcher Spencer Thompson said the latest figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show unemployment will not peak until 2014.
He said: “The outlook is especially bleak for young people and the long-term unemployed.
“Hundreds of thousands are at risk of permanent ‘scarring’ in the labour market: having their long-term outlook damaged by long periods of unemployment or by a difficult and patchy entry into the world of work.
“The Government should guarantee a job, paid at the minimum wage or above, to anyone who has been out of work and claiming JSA for more than 12 consecutive months.
“If people do not want to take up this offer, they should be expected to find an alternative that does not involve claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance.”
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