THE number of young people out of work could pass the one million mark when official unemployment figures are published today.

Last month’s data for the three months to July showed that 947,000 16- to 24-year-olds were out of work - the highest level since Office for National Statistics (ONS) records began in 1992.

And this latest quarterly figure is expected to have risen again.

Fears of a "lost generation" have been stoked by the jobless rate among the under 25s, which at 19.7% meant one in five young people was looking for work.

Overall unemployment is already running at a 14-year high, with the jobless total reaching 2.47 million in the three months to July.

Youth unemployment figures are set to deteriorate further as school and university leavers try and enter the worst jobs market in a generation.

A new study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) yesterday suggested the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work for longer than six months has reached its highest level in 15 years.

The Government has promised jobs or training to those 18-24 year olds who have been out of work for more than a year, but the TUC said it expected to see another "sharp" increase in youth unemployment in today’s figures and warned more must be done to stop a generation being left on the jobs "scrapheap".

Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said the one million mark could well have been reached.

"This highlights the very worrying problem that youth unemployment is becoming," he said.

Overall he expects unemployment to rise above 2.5 million from 2.47 million, with the number of new people without work slowing slightly to 140,000.

He predicts the jobless total will hit 3 million next year.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May told GMTV: "If we do hit that million figure today, it is a pretty grim figure for these young people and we could see a lost generation.

"I think if we intervene early, if we do provide the help that is needed, then we can avoid that. But sadly, at the moment, there are too many young people without these opportunities."