I find it extremely worrying that unemployment in the UK is far more widespread than we are led to believe. It is getting worse by the day — and the Jewish community is not immune to this.

The government often boasts that UK unemployment figures are at a near all-time low of around 4 per cent. However, these statistics fail to account for the vast “hidden army” of three million unemployed people labelled “economically inactive”.

This might be because someone is retired or looking after their family. Yet this group also includes “discouraged workers”, those wishing to work, but not actively seeking employment because they feel either that there are no jobs available or that they lack the necessary skills.

We encounter many of the latter at Resource, a highly valuable service for unemployed members of the Jewish community.

In the midst of today’s cost-of-living crisis, a lot of people are struggling financially, particularly those “discouraged workers” in the over-55 age bracket, who, having not worked for some years, now wish — or, rather, need — to return to employment.

It is particularly disheartening for many of our older clients who have lost their jobs since data shows that they are more than twice as likely as other age-groups to be unemployed for at least two years.

The consensus is that there are lots of vacancies around, so those without employment are often asked: “Why don’t you just get a job?” Yet, questions like this often add to the humiliation these people feel.

This sense of shame and the feeling of pressure are exacerbated by the success-driven environment that the close-knit Jewish community engenders.

It is our mission at Resource to get adults of all ages, including those over 55, back into work — we just have to think differently about how to go about it.

Nowadays, there are numerous opportunities to work flexibly, to tailor working patterns around caring for children or grandchildren and to explore part-time options.

Resource is here to help people through the process. We can help produce what we call an “ageless’” CV or application, as well as advising clients to focus on what they, as older people, can offer, especially in terms of experience and knowledge.

I see the relief on people’s faces when they come into our offices for the first time and learn that we have the experience, expertise and skills to help them.

Jobs that our clients aged 55-plus have secured include head of menswear merchandising for a department store, general manager of a communications firm and community engagement manager for a charity helping to alleviate food poverty.

While clients regularly say to us how despondent they had become while looking for work, they also tell us that the enthusiasm of their Resource adviser has helped motivate them to succeed.

As the uncertain economic outlook takes its toll on the UK jobs market, figures released recently by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that Britain’s unemployment rate is the highest since the second quarter of 2022.

More than 400 people approached Resource for help last year and in the first half of 2023 we have seen a 60 per cent jump in client numbers compared to this time last year. Thankfully, most of them are now successfully in work.

Trying to enter or re-enter the world of work can feel like an impossible mountain to climb, but through listening to our clients’ needs and understanding how they can best apply their skills, we hope to enable this “hidden army” of “economically inactive” people to become not only economically active through employment, but also to thrive.

Victoria Sterman is CEO of Resource