The attitudes of employers towards those who have been unemployed for a year or more is changing, according to the HR director at professional services business Informa.

Employers are increasingly more open to employing those who have been out of work for a long period of time, as the recession softens attitudes towards unemployment.

Emma Blaney, group HR director at professional services business Informa, says “Perception of long-term unemployed people among recruiters has shifted from people who don’t want to work to those who have lost jobs through no fault of their own. Not everybody who is long-term unemployed is unemployable.”

Blaney emphasised that unemployed people should make the most of their time out of work to have the highest chance of impressing employers, by volunteering or developing their skills with education or training.