The Government promises continued investment in people and jobs, says employment minister Jim Knight

Following the announcement yesterday that unemployment has reached 2.47 million, Knight said: "We will not let people down in these tough times. Today's figures show that families across Britain are still being affected by the world recession and make clear how important it is to keep up the investment to get people back into work. The actions we have taken in recent months are starting to pay off. The number of people who have been claiming Jobseekers Allowance for up to six months has been declining in recent months."

Yesterday's OECD Employment Outlook shows that the UK is doing well compared with other developed nations such as the US and France with lower than average rates of unemployment than the G7, EU and OECD average.

But Knight added: "We know things will still be tough for some time and unemployment is likely to keep increasing even once the economy starts growing again - that's why it's critical that we continue investing in people's future and don't just abandon them.

"We must all play a part in making sure we don't lose a generation. Through the Backing Young Britain campaign we are bringing together employers across the country to give young people work and training opportunities. We are investing £6.9 billion to deliver more than one and a half million learning opportunities for 16 to 18 year-olds, provide an expansion in apprenticeship places and offer more than 100,000 jobs for young people through the Future Jobs Fund."