Companies should "hire a hoodie" to tackle the UK's jobs crisis as "surly young men can be turned into excited and motivated young employees", the Employment Minister has said.
In comments that echo David Cameron’s "hug a hoodie" speech of 2006, Employment Minister Chris Grayling told employers to prioritise local youths who look “unwilling to work” over Eastern Europeans.
He launched a new drive to get more people into work as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that unemployment has fallen by 35,000 this quarter - the first decline in almost a year.
Mr Grayling on Wednesday urged British companies to “put local recruits first” and not go for the "easy" option of hiring older and more experienced Eastern Europeans, in a speech to the Policy Exchange, a thinktank.
He said: “It’s easy to hire someone from Eastern Europe with five years experience and who has had the get up and go to cross a continent in search for work. And many employers do so.
“But those who look closer to home find gems too. Very often the surly young man in a hoodie who turns up looking unwilling to work can turn into an excited and motivated employee. It’s all about the expectations that they have, and the place they come from. And employers who give them that chance find it enormously rewarding.”
"So I stand foursquare behind my hope that British employers will put local recruits first."
The fall in overall unemployment has been bolstered by a large increase of 80,000 in the number of people working part time in the three months to February, the ONS figures showed. The number of people with full-time jobs actually fell by 27,000.
The number of unemployed women rose by 8,000 over the quarter to reach 1.14 million, the highest figure in 25 years.
Experts said that the increase in female unemployment is because of the large number of women who work in the public sector, which has suffered severe cutbacks in recent years.
The long-term unemployed - those out of work for over a year - jumped by 26,000 to 883,000, the highest number since 1996.
英国就业部长近日敦促各家公司“雇佣年轻小混混”，以应对英国的就业危机，因为“乖戾的年轻人能够转变为奋进的、积极主动的年轻职员”。
大卫-卡梅伦曾在2006年发表的一次演讲中提到要“拥抱小混混”，在效仿这一说法的一次评论中，就业部长克里斯-格雷林告诉雇主，要优先雇佣当地那些看起来“不想工作”的年轻人，而不是东欧人。
他发起了一项让更多人参加工作的行动，而英国国家统计局的数据显示，本季度英国的失业人数减少了3.5万人，是近一年来的下降。
格雷林本周三在对智囊机构“政策交流”的一次演讲中说，英国公司要“优先招聘本地人”，而不要走“捷径”，雇佣年龄更大、更有经验的东欧人。
他说：“雇到一些有五年工作经验，同时有魄力跋山涉水来找工作的东欧人很容易，而且很多雇主都这样做。”
“但那些雇佣本地人的公司也能发现人才。一些乖戾的看起来并不愿意工作的年轻小混混也能转变为奋进的、积极主动的雇员。这取决于他们的预期，以及他们来自哪里。给他们机会的雇主会发现‘人超所值’”。
“所以我诚挚地希望英国的雇主能够优先雇佣本地人。”
英国国家统计局的数据显示，截至今年2月以来的三个月间，英国兼职总人数增加了八万人，总体失业人数的下降是建立在这一基础上的。全职工作的人数其实减少了2.7万人。
在上一季度中，失业女性人数增加了八千人，达到114万，是25年来的水平。
导师表示，女性失业人数上升是由于众多女性在公共部门工作，而这一部门近年来裁员严重。
英国长期失业人数（失业一年以上）增加了2.6万，达到88.3万，是自1996年来的水平。

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