A youth charity is warning that one in five Lincoln teenagers collecting their GCSE results next week could find themselves on the dole by the age of 21.

As youth unemployment in Lincoln reaches a 13-year high, the Prince's Trust is warning this summer's school leavers could be the hardest hit since the crash of 1929.

In Lincoln, unemployment in 18- to 24-year-olds has leapt by around 80 per cent in the past year, from 585 Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in July 2008 to 1,075 last month – the highest increase since 1996.

And a report published today by the Trust and the University of Sheffield warns that the future for some GCSE students looks bleak.

In Lincolnshire about 8,400 students will leave secondary school this summer and those with no GCSEs are twice as likely to sign on as those with qualifications.

Professor Danny Dorling from the University of Sheffield said that youth opportunities and the rate of unemployment among young people were closely linked.

"If the number of young people on the dole exceeds a million, this summer's school leavers will be the hardest hit since the 1929 crash – with those without qualifications worst off," he said.

"However, the rate of youth unemployment in the recession to come will depend almost entirely on what opportunities young people are offered.

"This is why we must act now."

Despite gaining 14 GCSEs at school, Laurence Whitey, 18, of Brant Road, Lincoln, is currently unemployed.

"I'm looking for bar work at the minute but I'm not having much look finding a job," he said.

For more on the latest figures, see Monday's Echo.