by Shaheen Darr

Created on: September 19, 2011   Last Updated: September 23, 2011

Recession and government cuts in many areas of the economy have combined to increase the misery of unemployment for many UK households, the majority of which are already facing existence on a low income. According to a recent BBC news report, in the quarter leading up to July 2011, the number of unemployed has risen to 2.51 million making it the largest increase in nearly two years. This was seen both in the public and private sectors with economic output increasing by only 0.2% in the months up to June.

Commenting on the statistics the employment minister Chris Grayling, said that “clearly we must continue to focus our efforts on supporting business growth and ensure that people who do lose their jobs have the best possible support to get back into employment."

A Parliamentary publication on unemployment reported an increase of 37100 people claiming Job seekers allowance (JSA) between the months of June and July 2011 with the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rising to 1.58 million in August. The same report compared the UK unemployment figures with the rest of its European neighbours and while unemployment fell in most of the G7 countries, the UK’s stood at 7.7% in the first quarter of 2011. The Coalition government’s austere programs to get Britain out of debt have dampened economic growth which is vital to boost employment opportunities for those desperate to get back into work. 

According to a forecast published in July 2011 by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CIPD, unemployment in the UK is expected to peak at 8.7% (2.7 million) towards the middle of 2012 showing a drop in an original estimate of 9.5% in December 2010. The CIPD’s Chief Economic Adviser, Dr John Philpott said that the drop was due to pay freezes and pay cuts but “the total amount of pain being inflicted on the labour market by anaemic economic growth is as severe as expected.”  

The scenario is worse for young people aged between 16 to 24 or “neets” who are not in unemployment, in education and are without any training. To prevent the situation from escalating various schemes have been announced in the 2011 Budget which range from introducing over 50,000 apprenticeships over the next four years, 80,000 work experience placements for young people and establishing at least 24 new colleges that offer the University Technical Colleges programme to make working a better option than to be on benefits.

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