Unemployment reaches 11-year high
Unemployment in the UK has reached an 11-year high, totalling 1.82 million people, according to the Office for National Statistics.The unemployment rate increased by 0.4 per cent during the third quarter, equivalent to 140,000 people, to reach 5.8 per cent currently.An increase of 0.5 per cent in the rate, or 182,000 in the total, was recorded over the year.In terms of claimants, there was a rise of 36,500 from September and 154,800 over the year to hit 980,900 in October, itself a seven-year high.TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the growing dole queues showed "a human tragedy of wasted potential".He continued: "The signs are that redundancies are coming even faster since these figures were collected. Countering unemployment must be public policy priority number one."The last time the number of unemployed was as high was in December 1997, when the figure stood at 1.97 million, while the claimant count has not reached such levels since March 2001, when a figure of 990,900 was recorded.
Share this..
Related stories
Irish authorities breathe a sigh of relief
The Irish authorities are today breathing a sigh of relief with news that the €1.5 billion bond auction has gone relatively well. There was enough demand to fulfil the total €1.5 billion auction and indeed in the secondary market there has been a reduction in the yield demanded by investors which effectively reflects the growing confidence that perhaps the Irish economy may not need an...
Read MoreUK Working Week Is Over 48 Hours For Many
While it may be in direct contravention of the European Working Time Directive it seems that more and more workers in the UK are being asked to work longer than the regulation 48 hours a week. Unions have announced the rise in those working more than 48 hours a week and called for a halt to the practice, but what can they really do?
It is no coincidence that the rise in weekly wor...
Royal Mail strike turns nasty
As we enter the latest of the Royal Mail strikes there are serious concerns that the management and unions are further apart than ever before. The unions are threatening to take the management to court because of the 30,000 additional part-time workers they have brought in, this being on top of the original 30,000 earmarked for the Christmas period. There are laws which protect striking workers an...
Read MoreAnother leisure firm bites the dust
After news that XL Leisure Group, one of the UK's largest leisure groups, has gone into administration it seems that there are up to a dozen other companies literally on the brink of going under. When you consider that the XL Leisure issue has left up to 90,000 people stranded and unable to get home as planned, how bad can it get if another 12 companies were to go under!
The group...
Barclays Bank aims for the top
Fresh from the recent acquisition of Standard Life Bank, Barclays has now revealed a number of changes in the higher ranks of the company's offshoot Barclays Capital with a number of heavyweights brought on board to push the operation further forward. To be honest, Barclays Capital has always been one of the major players in the worldwide mergers/acquisitions arena and financial markets, but with...
Read More