The number of young people in Richmond claiming unemployment benefits has trebled in the lockdown.

Claimants of universal credit or jobseeker's allowance aged 18-24 doubled across the UK in the last three months, an investigation by the BBC Shared Data Unit found.

This mean Richmond's youth were more badly hit in jobs-terms by the coronavirus pandemic than the national average.

The percentage of young people in the town claiming out-of-work benefits rose from 2% in March to 6% in June.

However, the picture is far worse in many parts of the country.

More than one in six young people (16%) are now claiming out-of-work benefits in some parts of the UK.

Parts of Liverpool and Blackpool have been worst hit, with closures of pubs, cafes and restaurants all contributing.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £2 billion scheme to help young workers.

In the UK, 2.6 million people are currently claiming universal credit (UC) or jobseekers' allowance (JSA) and are required to "seek work".

A fifth of those - some 514,770 young people - are aged between 18 and 24.

The number of young new claimants have signed on between March and June is 276,000 - more than doubling over three months.

Laura-Jane Rawlings is chief executive of the charity Youth Employment UK.

She said: "There can be a negative effect of entering the labour market during a recession - there can be a scarring of individuals that enter at this time.

"It's not just about having one or two bad years it can be persistent. The people hit the most are people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"There is a good reason to suggest these figures have been understated because of the furlough scheme – the real issue will be months down the line if businesses don't survive."

Professor Guy Michaels of the London School of Economics said: "I think in general young people have certain entry pathways into the labour market.

"The hospitality sector is an important one.

"It offers people work even if they don't have a huge amount of experience or completed formal skills.

"This means that young people really have this stepping stone that they take in the start of their careers.

"After the recession, it took quite a few years for the youth unemployment to recover; it might take three or four years to start coming down.

Richmond in statistics

There are 8,114 people aged 18-24 in Richmond, according to the latest figures.

Of these, 510 were claiming unemployment benefits last month.

This is a three-fold increase on the situation in March, when only 2% of young people in Richmond were claiming.

The figures also show there were 3,335 people of all ages claiming unemployment benefits in Richmond.

"Each recession is different but there is a worry that this isn't going to go anywhere quickly.

"It is important that the public policy response is strong. But whatever the usual arguments are in terms of incentivising young people to work - it's clear that the vacancies aren't there.

"Part of the numbers are not there yet. As much as the figures show a sharp rise, this perhaps understates the underlying problem because of the furloughing scheme which has been successful at preserving jobs.

"It's true that once support goes, some businesses will go under. Some jobs will disappear even if jobs survive."

Prof Michaels said research shows the "first few years" of a young person's career see them progress most rapidly in the workplace.

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