A government think tank has warned of falling unemployment levels and a difficult period ahead for jobseekers.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) set out a number of distressing trends in its Jobs for the future: The path back to full employment in the UK report.

It noted that employment levels in Britain have fallen by less than the rate predicted by forecasters during the recession.

However, despite this fact, the IPPR explained that bodies such as the Office for Budget Responsibility expect jobs growth to fail to reach the peaks enjoyed before the financial crisis until 2015.

It warned that achieving full employment will be difficult and cited evidence that the public sector has been stimulating job creation and offsetting stalls in the private sector.

"One certainty in the next few years is that public sector employment will fall, so if private sector employment does not increase rapidly, the economic recovery is likely to be weak," said the IPPR.

This comes after the coalition unveiled a series of new measures that aim to make it easier for companies to offer apprenticeships.
 

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