Unemployment passes two million
UK unemployment has risen above two million for the first time since
1997, official figures have shown.
During the three months to January, the number of people unemployed
totalled 2.03 million, up by 165,000, said the Office for National
Statistics (ONS).
For February, the number of people getting jobseeker's allowance added a
record 138,400 to reach 1.39 million.
There are now 10 jobseekers for every vacancy advertised in UK
jobcentres, the TUC claimed earlier this week.
The ONS added that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.5% between November
and January.
'Everything we can'
Unemployment is rising as the first recession in the UK since 1991
continues to bite. Many economists now predict it will go above three
million next year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Commons it was a "matter of
personal regret" for him that people were losing their jobs.
"That is why we'll do everything we can to help people get back to
work," he said.
Mr Brown added that rising unemployment was a global problem which
remained higher in many other countries.
Conservative leader David Cameron countered that the Labour government
was to blame for the rise in unemployment.
"You've led us to this point without the hint of an apology and the
British people will never forget it," he said.
'Unemployment milestone'
"This is another milestone in the return of mass unemployment to the UK,
and it will get worse before it gets better as unemployment always
persists even after a recovery starts," said TUC general secretary
Brendan Barber.
Turning his attention to next month's G20 meeting in London, Mr Barber
added that it was now imperative that world leaders work together to
help stimulate the global economy.
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said
the government should now "seriously consider" temporary wage subsidies.
The ONS figures showed that it is the private sector that is seeing the
rise in unemployment.
They showed that in December 2008, the number of people in private
sector employment was 23.6 million, down 13,000 from September 2008.
Over the same period, the number of people with public sector jobs rose
15,000 to 5.78 million.
The ONS added that average earnings, including bonuses, rose only 1.8%
in the year to January, the lowest annual rise since records began in
1991.
Business warnings
Separate reports by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and CBI have
both predicted that UK unemployment will rise above three million in
2010.
HAVE YOUR SAY I lost my job one week before Christmas. I was two months
away from completing my probationary period Jo, Horsham
The BCC said the UK economy had worsened "significantly" so far in 2009,
and said unemployment will hit 3.2 million next year, slightly more than
10% of the workforce.
Alan Tomlinson, an accountant who guides firms through insolvency, said
he had "never been so busy".
"Companies of all sizes and in all sectors are folding by the day,
putting more and more people out of a job," he said.
"The CBI's prediction, last month, that unemployment will peak at just
over three million in the second quarter of 2010 could prove to be
wildly optimistic."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/03/18 16:13:07 GMT
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
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