Unemployment soars above two million for first time in 12 years… but number of jobs in the public sector RISES
By Niall Firth
Last updated at 11:03 AM on 18th March 2009
Unemployment soared to a grim new high today as the jobless total leapt above the two million mark for the first time in 12 years.
It is the first time since July 1997 – the summer that Labour came to power - that the number of people out of work has breached such a politically sensitive milestone.
New figures showed that the number of people out of work jumped to 2.03 million following waves of redundancies from companies battling to survive the recession.
But while private firms bore the brunt of the job losses, the number of people employed in the public sector actually rose over the past year.
Public sector jobs soared by 30,000 to 5.78 million last year while employment in private firms fell by 105,000 to 23.6 million, said the Office for National Statistics.
Unemployment has moved above 2 million for the first time in 12 years, official figures showed today
And jobseeker’s allowance claimants rose by 138,400 in February in the biggest monthly increase since records began in 1971.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May accused the Government of ’sleepwalking’ through what she called the ‘unemployment crisis’.
‘This is a grim milestone that no-one wanted to reach,’ she said.
‘Gordon Brown’s negligent and complacent attitude over the past decade means we have a huge skills gap in the economy. It is extremely worrying that people don’t have the necessary skills to fill the current vacancies in the economy.
Theresa May said that Gordon Brown had been ‘negligent’
‘Labour needs to wake up and allow people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to retrain immediately, instead of having to wait 18 months.’
The official figures come a day after after an IMF report warned that Britain will take longer to recover from the world recession than any other major economy.
The figures sparked a fresh political row with the Chancellor accused of ‘running scared’ because he is not taking part in a major Commons debate on the economy today. Instead he is represented by treasury chief secretary Yvette Cooper.
The number of jobs fell by 203,000 to 31.3 million in the quarter to December, the largest slump since 1992.
And a total of 266,000 people became redundant in the three months to January, the worst figure since records began in 1995 and up by 86,000 on the previous quarter.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: ‘On a day when unemployment hits two million, the Turner Report is published and we read that the IMF thinks Britain will have the longest recession of any major economy.
He said he found it ‘extraordinary’ that Alistair Darling was not ‘prepared to defend the government’s policies in the House of Commons and, through it, to the public’
Mr Osborne said: ‘Most people will conclude the Government is running away from the debate because they know they are losing it.’
But the Government dismissed the claims. A Treasury source said: ‘Alistair Darling has never shirked appearances in the Commons - as his record will testify - and he will be leading a parliamentary debate on the economy later this month.
‘He made a Commons statement on Monday and is appearing in front of the treasury committee tomorrow.’
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘This is another milestone in the return of mass unemployment to the UK, and it will get worse before it gets better as unemployment always persists even after a recovery starts.’
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘The outlook for unemployment is worsening and there is an urgent need for action. At this rate, unemployment looks set to reach 3.2 million in 2010.
‘Even with some staff accepting pay freezes and working fewer hours, it is clear that employers are facing significant financial pressures.’
There is a vital need for steps specifically aimed at preventing a damaging loss in our industrial skills base. Temporary measures such as wage subsidies need to be seriously considered.’
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the Government was channelling more help to the jobless, and lashed out at those who ‘talk down the economy’.
Howard Archer, chief economist at forecasters Global Insight, said: “Reports of companies laying off workers are prevalent, while an increasing number of companies are folding.
‘With the economy seemingly set to contract through 2009 and very possibly beyond before starting to recover gradually, we expect unemployment to rise to a peak of 3.3 million around late 2010 to early 2011.
‘This would give an unemployment rate of around 10.5 per cent.’ Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas, said: ‘We’ve had a spate of announced job cuts, but much of this has yet to show up in the official data.’
Yet another stastic Gorden Brown will deny is his fault. Somehow he will blame the Americans, the world economy, or the little green men on mars. He must have learnt all this sidestepping responsibility from a certain Mr Blair.
These figures are total rubbish like the useless government that publishes them. It has to be over 8,000,000 counting all the layabouts who have never worked , single mothers, illegal immigrants and the bone idle who are on benefit, etc.
It was Gordon Brown who said that the UK economy was strong enough to withstand what was then described as the credit crunch. When he said it he obviously knew this was not the case and now it has apparently proven to be the weakest economy. All the chickens are now coming home to roost but unfortunately at the expense of jobs of ordinary men and women in the street.Labour the party of the workers -I don,t think so
- Robert, Caen France, 18/3/2009 10:16