YOUTH unemployment has soared to a three-year high, figures showed today as unions warned the rise is leaving young people’s “futures on the line.”

The latest labour market data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released today, show that the youth unemployment rate hit 13.3 per cent over the three months to July, up 1.4 per cent on the previous quarter.

In comparison, the rate of unemployment for the public as a whole was 4.1 per cent, down from 4.2 per cent over the previous three months.