Youth unemployment returns to the cities blighted in 1980s

Northern cities such as Hull and Sunderland that were battered by industrial decline in the 1980s have become the blackspots for youth unemployment in this recession, according to a report that calls for the government to target financial help on the worst-hit areas. The Centre for Cities thinktank research, published today, shows where the unemployment rate among the under-25s has risen fastest. Hull comes top of the list, where almost one young person in 10 is claiming unemployment benefit, but Barnsley, Doncaster, Middlesbrough and Wigan also figure in the top 10. The only southern cities that feature are Swindon, and Hastings, where youth unemployment has now risen to more than 8 per cent.