Rishi Sunak announces 'kickstart jobs scheme' for under 25s in House of Commons speech

8 July 2020, 13:38 | Updated: 8 July 2020, 13:57

By Polly Foreman

The Chancellor today announced a £2bn scheme to help young people get jobs.

Rishi Sunak today announced a 'kickstart job scheme' to create more jobs for young people amid growing unemployment due to the pandemic.

The scheme is part of an emergency package to help the UK economy and prevent mass employment, and will see new jobs created for under 25s.

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The Treasury will subsidise six-month work placements for 16-24 year olds who are unemployed, with Mr Sunak adding that these will be 'decent' and 'good quality' jobs that pay at least minimum wage.

He warned that "significant increases in unemployment" had been predicted, particularly among young people, and added that "we don’t want that generation left behind".

Prior to the announcement, a Downing Street spokesperson said, according to ITV: "The Chancellor outlined that young people were particularly vulnerable because they are two-and-a-half times more likely to work in the sectors that have been closed.

"The Chancellor emphasised that we don’t want that generation left behind and that is what today’s economic update will focus upon."

Mr Sunak also announced that businesses will be given £1,000 for every staff member they being back from furlough, saying: "If you stand by your workers, we will stand by you."

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He said that furlough has been "lifeline" for millions, but added that it would be "irresponsible" to continue giving endless extensions to the furlough.

"Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that is will always be possible to return to the jobs they had before," he added.

"If you are an employer, and you bring someone back who was furloughed, and you continuously employ them through to January, we will pay you a £1,000 bonus per employee.

"It is vital people aren't just returning for the sake of it, they need to be doing decent work."

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Businesses to be given £1,000 bonus for each employee they bring back from furlough