BUSINESS and campaign groups have warned the Budget looks "bleak" for the unemployed and lacks measures to help create jobs.

George Osborne announced no new funding for apprenticeships and failed to meet hopes of a national insurance holiday for employers, which would have made it more affordable for firms to take on new staff.

Unemployment is expected to peak at 8.7% (2.8 million) this year, before falling to 6.3% by 2016-17, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said. It expects one million jobs to be created in the next five years.

However, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) claimed the Chancellor should have done more to improve unemployment rates.

Susan McPhee, CAS chief executive, said: "It was a bleak Budget for the many Scots who are unemployed. There wasn't much hope for job-creation.

"Meanwhile, they won't benefit financially from the tax changes and instead will have to face yet more welfare cuts."

Colin Borland, of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, said businesses were hoping that a national insurance break would have helped them to take on more staff.

He said: "A national insurance holiday for, say, six months, would have made it more affordable for businesses to take on new staff.

"I've looked right through this Budget and there's not much about national insurance and there's certainly not much about helping unemployment.

"Obviously the Government is trying to reduce the deficit through increased economic growth and the best way to do that would be to reduce unemployment rates, but they don't appear to have done anything to try to do this."

Unison Scotland claimed that the Budget contributed to consigning a whole generation to "mass unemployment because of crazy austerity economics".

The union's Scottish secretary Mike Kirby said: "Over 100,000 young Scots are now jobless – that's the highest figure for a generation.

"Youth unemployment in Scotland is higher than the UK average and it is increasing more rapidly. The Government should be creating jobs and investing in the infrastructure and services, our economy and our people – especially our young people – for a better future. We need a halt to the failed austerity policies."

Mr Kirby also criticised plans to freeze the minimum wage for under-21s. He said it was "unfair" and would do nothing to address joblessness.

However, John Longworth, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the minimum wage freeze was a "welcome step".

Businesses had also hoped youth unemployment could have been addressed through reduced contributions for those under 25, but this did not materialise. Mr Longworth said: "We are disappointed the Chancellor did not announce additional measures to incentivise businesses to employ more young people."

Dr Lesley Sawyers, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, added: "The Chancellor could have done more to tackle the problem of youth unemployment and should have delivered new capital investment that would create jobs and grow the economy in the short term, and deliver economically significant assets in the longer term."

Meanwhile, the OBR revealed that the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance is expected to fall by almost 150,000 in 2014, saving the Government £0.9 billion.

However, it was also predicted 20,000 public-sector workers would lose their jobs by 2016-17, taking the total number cut as a result of austerity measures to 750,000.