Albert Dock in Liverpool, in the 1980

Liverpool and Manchester top jobless list

Liverpool and Manchester top jobless list

By politics.co.uk staff

More young people grow up in workless households in Liverpool and Manchester than anywhere else in the UK, according to new research from the Prince’s Trust.

The research found that one in three children in the cities had parents who did not go to work, compared to one in six elsewhere.

The survey paints a picture of thwarted aspiration, with 77% of young people from workless households in the north-west of England having struggled to find a job and nine per cent having taken up benefits because those around them have.

The research concluded that a lack of adult role models and work opportunities are denying young people in England employment, but that there was a general desire to find a job.

“The figures are often worst in inner city areas, and areas of high poverty and traditionally high unemployment,” said Princes’ Trust spokesman Paul Brown.

“If you grow up in a family where there isn’t anybody getting up in the morning and going to work, if that’s not part of the natural cycle of the day, then it can be very difficult for you to realise that having a job is actually a normal and positive thing.”

Britain has the highest number of children growing up in workless households in Europe, according to Office of National Statistics (ONS) data.