MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
UK unemployment hits 17-year high: 2.5 million Brits out of a job
Jobless among those aged 18 to 24 reached 18.3% The number of unemployed in the UK has hit a 17-year high of more than 2.5 million and pushed the unemployment rate to 8%, official data showed Wednesday.
The rate for the three months of November to January rose from the 7.9% reported last month for the three months of October to December, inclusive. Britain reports its jobless figures on a constantly rolling three-month window.
Gains in the number of people working in the private sector were not enough to offset growth in the labor pool and public sector job cuts, causing the increase in the unemployment rate, the Office for National Statistics said.
The total number of workers actually rose by 32,000, better than the 27,000 increase that economists had been expecting. But it wasn't enough to keep pace with the labor force, which grew by 93,000.
The jobless rate among those aged 18 to 24 reached a record high of 18.3%.
The picture on the opposite end of the spectrum was little better, as the number of people aged 65 who are working rose by 56,000 in the three months to 900,000, the highest figure since the current data series began in 1992.
“The small increase in employment did not improve the unemployment picture because most of the increase reflected more people working past the state pension age,” said Nigel Meager, director of the Institute for Employment Studies.
Total pay was up 2.3% on the year, well below the current inflation rate of 4%. Simon Hayes, analyst at Barclays Capital, forecast ”a small but steady rise in the unemployment rate during the rest of the year”.
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Read all commentsUnemployment, can we really trust the politicians, [no]
Mar 16th, 2011 - 11:44 pm 0nearly 3 million out of work, yet every day thousands of jobs are advertised in the papers, and no one wants them, Tesco it seems is going over seas to recruit hundreds of workers, as they cannot find staff in the UK.
is there something wrong with the system, or people just don’t want the jobs on offer, expect to much perhaps , one man suggested to re introduce apprentices, to train thousands in the skills they will need for the future, the government thinks differently, well, some is telling porkpies, you either bend with the wind, or break your back,
export export export, and export your way out of recession,
will it work, I have no idea, but worth a try perhaps,
just a thought .
export export export, and export your way out of recession
Mar 17th, 2011 - 12:44 am 0export what?
Your manufacturing base is a joke. your banking service is bust, north sea oil production is in decline. Bailing out your banks didn't worked and never will work (Now it's on the balans sheet of the taxpayers, congratulations). Interest rates are close to zero and the UK keeps printing money from thin air. Don't you get it? Your silly nation is in decline. have a nice day.
More like... broke, fido fido.
Mar 17th, 2011 - 08:11 am 0What these turnips don't understand is that times change, the methods they employed in the past don't work anymore, they're literally running out of all the resources they stole.
It's not a mystery, they are BROKE.
BROKE, BROKE, BROKE... : P
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