Calls are being made for a jobs guarantee scheme for young people in Dumbarton and the Vale who have found themselves unemployed due to Covid-19.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie is calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to act urgently to prevent mass unemployment.

Official statistics show that the level of 16-24-year-olds claiming unemployment benefits has almost doubled between February and May, rising to 7.1 per cent.

She said: “These figures highlight the urgent need for a robust and long term industrial strategy and a need to ensure job security for our young people.

“Workers in West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute have suddenly found themselves out of work and have no idea if or when they will be able to find work again.

“The financial aid from both the Scottish and UK Government for those who find themselves unemployed and furloughed has been a help but it is vital that this support is developed and extended.

“The current crisis in the job market is not going to end anytime soon and workers cannot be allowed to suffer because of a situation that is completely out with their control.”

The Higgins economic recovery report published last week also called for a Jobs Guarantee Scheme, warning that workers under the age of 25 are two and half times more likely than those aged 25 and older to work in sectors that have been shut down.

West Dunbartonshire has been hit particularly hard by Covid-19 related unemployment and has the second highest rate in Scotland.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie is calling on more to be done to help young people left out of work.

Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show that unemployment in the area rose from 2885 in March 2020 to 4440 in April 2020.

In 2019, Argyll and Bute had lower than Scottish and UK average levels of unemployment.

However, the workforce for the local authority is overwhelmingly made up of employees in the service sector – specifically in hospitality and tourism businesses, which have been hit particularly badly by the crisis.

The Lennox Herald reported last month how the number of people claiming Universal Credit in West Dunbartonshire has increased by over 1000 in a month.

Statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions show that an additional 1,114 claims were made between April 9 and May 14.