Unemployment can have a devastating effect on people regardless of their age but there are particular concerns surrounding youth unemployment, and rightly so.

There is a risk that young people who do not go into work, further education or training after leaving school face a bleak future.

This is because while they may lack the necessary formal qualifications, they also have never had the chance to learn the other skills that go with getting and holding down a job – such as being punctual, polite and enthusiastic.

And if nothing is done to help them, they can quite easily become a lost generation, with no chance of finding work and no real desire to do so as they become accustomed to a life on hand-outs.

Not only is such a situation bad for them, it is bad for the rest of us too, which is why tackling the issue is so important.

With that in mind, the recent fall in the total number of young people classed as Neet – not in employment, education or training – across Bradford district has to be seen as a step forward.

The fact that we are out-performing other parts of West Yorkshire is also a feather in our cap.

But that does not mean we should be celebrating. For while the national average of young people classed as Neet is 6.4 per cent, the rate in Bradford is a much higher 8.7 per cent.

That translates into 1,226 individuals, a worryingly large figure, showing a need for continued efforts in this direction.