UK youth unemployment at its highest in two decades: 22.5%
United Kingdom’s unemployment rate held at a 13-year high of 8.4% in the three months to January, and the youth unemployment rate rose to a record high, official data showed Wednesday.
The figures will increase the pressure on Chancellor George Osborne to take measures to boost growth and jobs when he presents his 2012/13 budget next week, at a time when the economy is struggling to show sustainable recovery.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics said that the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 7.00 - slightly more than economists had forecast - to a 1.612 million in February, the highest since November 2009.
Unemployment on the broader ILO measure slipped to 2.666 million for the November-January period from 2.671 million in the three months to December, but the overall rate held at 8.45, the highest since late 1995.
Osborne is all but certain next week to stick to his five-year austerity program which aims to largely eliminate Britain's budget deficit. A major plank of this involves reducing the level of public sector employment, and hoping that the private sector will take up the slack.
The politically sensitive number of young people without a job rose to 1.042 million in the three months to January, taking the jobless 16 to 24year-olds to 22.5%, the highest since record began in 1992.
The government has been relying on private firms to create enough employment to make up for the estimated 700.00 jobs it is cutting in the public sector as part of its austerity program, aimed at erasing the country's huge budget deficit over the next five years.
18 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
en.mercopress.com/2012/03/14/the-lady-out-of-control-appeals-to-nazi-mengele-and-anti-semitism-to-attack-the-media
However these things go in ups and downs, and you will see that from analysing your own country, as well as others!
In the last 30 years you have gone from a dictatorship to an attempt at democracy, and it now seems falling into a family run dynasty! Sounds like something from the roman era (except you'll never become an empire as you're a bunch of cowardly, uninventive, outdated jobby jabbers :-))
“Britain suffers from an underclass problem. Government benefits have been given too liberally and have turned people into moochers”
Wow excellent peace of economic analysis.
If you don’t give them some kind or benefit to survive what they are going to do? Go with a knife to steal you on the streets or to sale fresh cannabis at Brixton?
Have you ever thought that British have not incentive to work as salaries are the lowers among EU members and there is not enough economic activity to hold them?
Have you ever thought that politician in UK instead of have been giving taxpayer money to bankers to save toxic assets they could be saving business and factories to keep the economy going?
Try to work at Tesco for 6.7 pound an hour and them tell me how that feels to be poor in expensive Britain.
Try to work at Tesco for 6.7 pound an hour and them tell me how that feels to be poor in expensive Britain. ... is this from your experience? I guess you wouldn't be able to tell us because you've never experienced it.
You're really just talking out of your hat. End of Story.
www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SL.UEM.1524.FE.ZS/compare?country=ar#country=ar:es:gb
Well put Stefan, I have seen first Labour and the conservatives take it in turns to run the country into the ground. Each blaming each other for the countries problems, each attacking the wrong target.
They target stay-at-home-mum's instead of the 18 / 19 year olds who are out selling drugs. They put up the retirement age without getting the long term unemployed back to work. They give families so much in benefits that they get more money than if they got a job.
then they put up taxes Council tax bills and cut government services
You have to laugh, oh , you have to, because if you didn't, you would surely cry.
the defence budget is a modest 40 billion, social protection on the other hand is a gargantuan 200 billion, not to mention the NHS at 126 billion, despite this colossal spending we still have a mediocre health service and an unemployment rate which has remained steadily hovering at 2 million despite 10 years of Nu Labour supposedly creating Jobs.......
No unemployment
All the people rich or well above poverty,
The impression some give again the UK with the impression that Argentina is a paradise,
All countries are going through hard times at the moment, and the lucky ones with a job and a good life, should never look down on the less well off,
And thus should be grateful for small mercies, no matter what country you live in .
You are right I’ve never worked in a supermarket and to be honest with the exception of a couple of time I have never worked for others. But you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that in expensive Britain a person cannot live with dignity with that much. Housing is expensive, transportation, food, etc, etc.
Until now the solution for Britain was to import from cheap producer countries and finance the trade deficit by borrowing abroad. This works for some time until doesn’t anymore and tsunami debt start.
BoE is still financing the party with it famous QE in other words printing money like crazy. While waiting for a miracle to make the economy to recover. And according with experts figures UK is going to have another recession.
So can you see your situation now? Doesn’t look any good.
and just dont pay nothing, go bankrupt, and come back all gun blazing, just argentina,
sadly, we brits like the way we are, and we will pay our way,
argentina on the other hand the only country riding on a creat of a wave, is it not lol.
Well do it but allow me to tell you that will cost you 20 years of recessions, depression, unemployment, social chaos, crime rising every day, riots, standard of living like in Africa, etc, etc. until you have to face the inevitable like Greece.
And all that pain... what for? To please your bankers elite that have been playing Ponzi schemes and lost.
So be happy, while you are in recession and you have to tighten your belt Ana Botín from UK Santander branch in UK had increased her salary to £4m despite 40% fall in profits.
And do you know what? When the bank gets into trouble you will have to bailout her daddy bank with more cuts and taxpayer money.
Its is not a wonderful business? They are happy to collect, King prints as crazy and you are happy to pay while tightening your belt.
I want a business like this in Britain and you? Lol
www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/16/santander-uk-ana-botin-pay-bonuses
the crooked banks should have been left to crash, and all those that lost money, should have been given the right to sue the bankers,
but sadly we live in a very greedy world,
where the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer .
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!