News
Rise in UK unemployment slowing
The number of people unemployed in the UK rose again in the three months to September, although the 30,000 increase was the smallest since May 2008.
Unemployment totalled 2.46 million in the quarter, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The jobless rate remained at 7.8%.
However, the youth unemployment rate rose to 19.8%, a record high.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 12,900 to 1.64 million in October.
This was the smallest increase in 18 months.
Employment increase
The ONS figures showed that the number of people out of work for longer than a year rose by 71,000 to 618,000 in the three months to September, the highest level for 12 years.
At the same time, the number of people in work increased by 6,000 to 29 million, the first quarterly rise since the summer of 2008.
Youth unemployment also continued to rise in the three months to September, with the number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work increasing by 15,000 to 943,000.
Ross Walker, UK economist at RBS Financial Markets, said the latest official figures were "better than expected".
However, he added: "There is some evidence of stabilisation but it remains to be seen just how durable this proves to be.
"It feels both too soon to expect any sustainable increase in total employment and certainly the GDP data suggest that we should still be, under normal circumstances, six or maybe nine months away from that."
Mandi O'Shea, managing director of Scientiam, a not-for-profit training provider in Liverpool, said the record rise in youth unemployment was the main concern.
"Young people are bearing the brunt of this vicious recession," she said.
"There is a lost generation of young people, particularly in the 16-18 age group, coming out of school and being dumped straight onto the jobless scrapheap."
Recession continuing
The additional 30,000 out of work in the three months to September is in comparison with the three months to June.
The rise came as figures released last month showed that the UK failed to exit recession between July and September, with the economy instead contracting by 0.4%.
The ONS also revealed that average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose 1.8% between July and September from a year earlier. This was the lowest annual growth rate since at least 2001.
When bonuses are included, average earnings rose by 1.2% from a year before.
Link BBC
Posted on Wednesday 11th November 2009
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