UK unemployment at 17 year high

seun said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12757675Have we gone back to the early eighties?

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Yep.

That high unemployment rate's quite the puzzler, what with the wide-open marketplace, the lack of regulatory barriers to entry, the solid financial base of the pound, the simplicity of the legal system, the live and let live attitude, labour's willingness to meet management half-way, the ultra-low taxes, the tightly-controlled borders, the unsurpassed respect for privacy and private property, and the strong entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to self-reliance which infuses the British psyche.

Dammit, ben, I think you've used up all the signs.

ETA: Nope, found one stuck in the back of the closet.



And I seem to remember Maggie was the one that said it was gonna suck to run out of OPM (Other People's Money).

I'm still finding more job listings in my field in England than I am in the US. For real. I know because I'm actively looking in both countries.

Yes, I'm whining and contributing nothing to this thread. Carry on, y'all.

Yeah, not really surprised. Lost my job a couple of weeks ago. Current job listings at job centre consist of a dozen carer jobs that require carer qualifications and one 10 hr pw cleaning job. Not a lot to choose from right now.

I've been looking since i returned to the UK 7 months ago.

Obviously no Town Planning jobs, so I've been applying for office jobs. Unfortunately, employers believe I'm overqualified. Honestly, if I didn't want the job I wouldn't be applying for it.

I've lost track of the number of jobs I've applied for. Sick and tired of it all.

firedrake said:

I've lost track of the number of jobs I've applied for. Sick and tired of it all.

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My sympathies. I'veen made redundant twice so far in my life, managed to evade it last year and now it's looming bigger than before. I may be joining you soon.

Dgullen said:

My sympathies. I'veen made redundant twice so far in my life, managed to evade it last year and now it's looming bigger than before. I may be joining you soon.

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I'll keep my fingers crossed. This is the first time in 31 years that I've been unemployed. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I'm waiting to hear whether I'm going to get JSA, because I've been out of the country, I may not be able to.

Getting seriously bad all round, even here where there's supposedly always jobs.

I found this a little while ago, on where the unemployment is spread (on last years figures though) Interesting that of the 5 lowest unemployment rates, three are in Scotland and the other 2 are in Cumbria, while London's rate is on a par with Yorkshire, and the actual spread between highest region and lowest isn't as big as I'd thought. Not what I expected. I wonder what those figures would look like now?


I was also a tad confused in the article where the unemployment rate is raised, but later on they say

The jobs data showed that number of people in work increased by 32,000 to 29.16 million, the highest figure since last autumn.

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meaning employment rate is raised too?

I'm assuming this disparity is due to more people being in the jobs market?

Chris P said:

I'm still finding more job listings in my field in England than I am in the US. For real. I know because I'm actively looking in both countries.

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What is your field if you don't mind my asking??

I don't think they will. Purely because the government (every government) has been fudging the figures since Thatcher. There's no way of us knowing what the true figures are.

I'm in the West Midlands and we've got one of the highest rates in the country at the moment.

And the problem isn't just a lack of jobs. I'm in admin and I've noticed that companies are offering pay that is way lower than last year for the same jobs. What was 17 - 18k is now being offered at 15 - 16k. Sometimes even lower.

And the government are now making it as hard as humanely possible to be unemployed without resorting to workhouses and no dole.

But then, none of this surprises me. I remember the last time the Tories were in power......

Remember, these cuts aren't cuts. Dave says they're savings

I wonder if the private sector will be willing absorb all of the public sector job losses? Wishful thinking....

I often think about looking for a better job but it's stories like that, which make me think I should just be pleased I am employed even if the money is terrible

seun said:

Glad it's not just me. Maybe it's the Tory government or the unemployment or the economy or the shit TV, but I can't help feeling like I'm stuck in 1983.

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It's not 1983. It's 1980.

seun said:

Wasn't it great?

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Time to dust off the UB40 CDs.

I went to sign on last week. It was fecking awful. I felt like a total bit of scum. My appointment started late because the officer interviewing me was busy gossiping with a colleague. It gave me the opportunity to come to the conclusion that most of the people in that office were very smug and self-important.

There are few things more demoralising than the fortnightly trip to the Job Centre, knowing that all the office drones consider you on the same level as pond filth.

Bird of Prey said:

What is your field if you don't mind my asking??

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Why? Are you hiring?

I do pesticide research, everything from new active ingredient discovery to development, efficacy, environmental fate, and I have some experience with regulation. I'm able to apply for about two jobs in the UK for every one I do here, even by using the contacts I have within the industry.

Since I'd love to live in the UK, I like those odds, but oof! it's not an easy road.

crunchyblanket said:

There are few things more demoralising than the fortnightly trip to the Job Centre, knowing that all the office drones consider you on the same level as pond filth.

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Actually, I have quite a laugh at the Job Centre as my advisor is a raving socialist and we have a good bitch and moan about Dave and his cronies. He fills me in on all the new tortures the Tories are about to inflict on the jobless and then tells how they are cost cutting in his office. For instance, they've had to buy the cheapest paper they can find to print job details on. It's like that toilet paper we used to get in school. They can't buy any plastic wallets for the signing on books and all the other bits of paper you have to carry. They have to buy their own tea and coffee. They are all as fed up as we are! LOL!

Actually, it's the advisor you get when you've been on the dole for 6 months that are real bastards. Last year I had a woman who was a total bitch from hell.

I have a degree and 6 years of experience in my field. I'm 46 years old and I need to earn 18k a year to pay my bills and have some sort of life. She told me to get a bar job.....