Schools Secretary Ed Balls has welcomed the fall in the number of 16-17 year olds who are unemployed, hailing it as a success for the Government’s September Guarantee. Figures released on Wednesday revealed that the number of jobless in the age group had dropped from 206,000 to 197,000, reflecting the fact that 82.9 per cent of 16-17 year olds are now in full-time education. Mr Balls said: “Today’s youth unemployment figures show that, while this remains a difficult time for a number of young people, Government action to invest in them through the recession is working - youth unemployment remains below the EU average.