UK’s Darling to guarantee jobs for under-25s

LONDON, (Reuters) – British finance minister Alistair Darling is planning a “budget for jobs” that will  guarantee work or training for young people, a government source  told Reuters yesterday.

From January 2010, everyone of working age under 25 who has  been out of work for more than a year will be offered a job or a  place in training, the source said.

“Darling will vow never to return to the day where a whole  generation of people found themselves abandoned to a future on  the scrapheap,” the source said.

Those offered a job will receive a wage and those given  training will be given a top-up to their benefit. This will form  part of a 2 billion pound package to boost jobs that Darling is  expected to deliver in the budget today.