Almost one in five jobseekers have been looking for work for more than a year following a big increase over the past 12 months, new research has shown.

Online recruitment site totaljobs.com raised concerns about long-term unemployment after an 8% increase since a year ago, with some regions worse affected than others.

The study showed that 21% of jobseekers in Wales and Yorkshire and Humberside have been out of work for longer than a year, compared with 16% in the South West.

Totaljobs director John Salt said: "Many people are at first reluctant to apply for Jobseeker's Allowance, but the longer a person is without work, the more likely they are to claim.

"What's more, a person's employability reduces every month they're not working, which creates a vicious cycle.

"To break this downward spiral there needs to be a partnership between the Government and the unemployed.

"More work-based training needs to be put in place in areas under particular stress - like Wales and Yorkshire - and those looking for work have to be flexible.

"The collapse of heavy industries has hit areas like Yorkshire and Wales particularly hard. The long-term, structural unemployment that resulted from these declining industries was partially reduced by huge investment in the public sector which created jobs, particularly for women.

"That investment is now running dry and job cuts are affecting areas across the country but places like Yorkshire and Wales have been less successful at attracting the private sector investment needed to create new jobs."