Best Debt Solution:UK unemployment highest for 12 years
Tuesday, 7. July 2009
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently reported that UK unemployment has risen to 2.261 million in the three months to April. This is the highest number of people out of work since November 1996.
The number of UK jobless is now above 7.2 per cent, the highest since July 1997. According to the official unemployment figures young people have been hardest hit by the recession, with unemployment amongst 18-24 year olds now more than double the national average, at 16.6 per cent.
Figures for the first quarter of 2009 show that 462,000 people aged 16 and 17 were in employment, 16.5 per cent lower than in the same period in 2008.
For the same three months, 3.5 million people aged 18 to 24 were in employment, down 4.8 per cent from the same period last year. According to the TUC, unemployment in the 18 to 24 age group was 16.6 per cent, the highest it’s been since 1993.
In May the number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by 39,000. Although this is less than the forecasted 60,000 predicted by some analysts, it shows a continuing trend in rising job losses.
High unemployment is contributing to increased debt worries for many. For those whose earnings are not meeting their credit repayments, and for those who have suffered cutbacks or even the loss of a job, debt help is available.
A debt expert can provide expert debt advice to help find the right solution for your own particular circumstances.
Claimant numbers reached 4.8 per cent in May, breaking another 10 year high. Not since November 1997 have so many people claimed unemployment benefit in the UK.
However, during the same period, average earnings rose by 0.8 per cent the ONS has said. Although the ONS goes on to say that the figures reflect bonus payments paid out in the financial services sector at this time of year.
Over the three months that the ONS report covers, the number of people in work fell by 271,000, the biggest quarterly drop since 1971 when figures began to be recorded. Unemployment now sits at 29.11 million.
Overall, the number of job vacancies has fallen from 659,000 in May 2008 to 424,000 in May 2009 - a 35.6 per cent drop in available jobs.