EACH month this year youth unemployment figures have reached record levels. Sadly Britain is breaking records for all the wrong reasons.

Despite the UK officially emerging from the recession more than a year ago, more than one in five young people in Bournemouth are still unemployed (21 per cent).

A new report published by The Prince’s Trust and Citi Foundation, Today’s Young People; Tomorrow’s Economy, shows that helping these disadvantaged young people into work or self-employment will not only transform young lives, it could boost the UK economy by millions.

The report found that in Bournemouth alone, support provided by The Prince’s Trust’s new Enterprise Programme could see disadvantaged young people add up to £155k to the local economy over a three-year period.

On top of gaining their economic earnings, the public purse stands to save even more on job seeker handouts. Local authorities, individual fundraisers and charitable organisations like The Prince’s Trust, whose figurehead is of course the Prince of Wales, must work together to ensure more young people across the South West escape long-term unemployment and poverty for good.

In doing so, our recovering economy stands to reap the rewards of their success.

RICK LIBBEY, Prince’s Trust Regional Director for the South West, Marsh Street, Bristol