UK Unemployment Rises

By: Dr. Mike Campbell
 
Despite clear evidence around the world that the recession following on from the global financial crisis has come to an end and the global economy is enjoying weak growth, the unemployment situation has not eased.

Businesses delay firing people until economic reality forces their hands and they are usually slow to take on new staff until they are sure that the company is growing and new people are needed. With the exception of Germany, none of the world’s major democratic economies has seen real job growth.

Partially, this is probably due to the fact that although growth has returned, all of these nations are planning austerity measures designed to cut debt. Many pundits expect that these spending cuts will cause a decline in growth, if not a contraction, at least in the early phase. This probably explains why firms are reluctant to take on new staff in uncertain times.
 
UK unemployment has just passed to 2.5 million mark, with a further 35000 people losing their jobs in the quarter to October. The official UK unemployment rate now stands at 7.9%. The rise in unemployment, the first seen in six months, has been attributed to the loss of public sector jobs as the austerity measures begin to bite.

However, with all the passion of theologians debating the number of angels that can stand on the head of a pin (first you need to define the size of your pin head...), the UK’s Office for National Statistics says that the number of people claiming job seeker’s allowance last month actually fell by 1200 to 1.46 million. The bottom line is that far too many Britons are out of work and would rather be in work. Unfortunately, the situation is likely to get worse before any significant improvement will be seen.
Dr. Mike Campbell
Dr. Mike Campbell is a British scientist and freelance writer. Mike got his doctorate in Ghent, Belgium and has worked in Belgium, France, Monaco and Austria since leaving the UK. As a writer, he specialises in business, science, medicine and environmental subjects.