Jobless executives to get government help

Recently unemployed white collar workers to get extra assistance under £40m scheme

The government has unveiled a £40m scheme to tackle white collar unemployment.

Special help will be given to 350,000 people who have no recent experience looking for work. This will include one-to-one meetings with a personal adviser and advice on changing careers.

The scheme – reported in the Independentthis morning – is open to anyone who is newly unemployed, including blue collar workers. But it has been hailed as an attempt to stem the sharp rise in job losses among managers, executives and professionals.

Work and pensions secretary James Purnell said: “We want to make sure everyone looking for work has the skills and confidence they need to find a suitable job as quickly as possible. That is why we are going to give newly unemployed people who need it access to specialist help.”

The number of professionals and managers receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance almost doubled to 98,000 in the 12 months to January. They now make up eight per cent of all claimants and that proportion is rising.

The total number of unemployed is set to breach the two million mark next week.