Jobcentre support should be placed alongside council services to help tackle long-term unemployment and in-work poverty, London Councils have said today.
In a new report, the group calls on the Government to take a ‘local first’ approach when developing new employment support services and funding streams.
The report - Better Ways to Work: Tackling labour market disadvantage in London - warns high employment rates disguise substantial weaknesses in the capital’s labour market.
It reveals that in the capital, 1.3 million working-age people are economically inactive, youth unemployment is highest in the country at 15.5% and more than 200,000 workers are being paid below the National Minimum Wage.
Cllr Georgia Gould, London Councils’ executive member for skills & employment, said: ‘While London appears an immensely wealthy city with a strong economy, scratch beneath the surface and it becomes clear the capital faces serious challenges of unemployment, poverty, and exploitation.
‘London boroughs need to be properly empowered to help ensure no Londoner is left behind. Failing to make the most of Londoners’ potential is a waste of economic potential, as well as a social injustice.’
