Youth unemployment in the UK is "at a higher level than we have ever known", according to one expert.

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In news that may be of interest to those looking for recruitment agency formation advice, the proportion of 16 to 18 year olds in education and training was 82.7 per cent at the end of 2009, according to new figures.

This is the highest ever rate and represents an increase of 3.1 percentage points over the 79.7 per cent seen at the end of 2008, a reports from the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Individuals looking into how to set up a recruitment agency may be interested to hear that the total number of 16 to 18 year olds in education and training jumped by 39,000 to 1.65 million at the end of 2009.

Reacting to the news, Tom MacInnes, research director at the New Policy Institute, said that the UK has a "chronic youth unemployment problem" that needs tackling.

"Youth unemployment is at a higher level than we have ever known it, certainly far higher than it was coming out of the last recession," he added.