East midlands Unemployment up by 1,000

Unemployment in the East Midlands rose by 1,000 in the three months to December, official figures have revealed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that a total of 188,000 people were unemployed in the region between October and December.
The region's unemployment rate was 8.2% and saw an increase of 0.5% during the period. The worst in the UK was the North West which saw the biggest increase in people out of work at 9.3% followed by London at 10.0%.
Across the country the unemployment rate increased to a 16-year high after another rise in the jobless total.

Source:

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'Total' unemployment is 6.3 million

Using the American U6 measure of unemployment - which includes unemployed, discouraged, marginally attached and under-employed workers - would mean unemployment in the UK standing at 6.3 million, higher than any point since the early 1990s, according to a new TUC analysis published today (Tuesday).
While the UK has two common measures of joblessness - ILO unemployment (currently 2.68 million) and the claimant count (1.6 million) - the US uses six measures of joblessness that incorporate long-term unemployment, recent job losses, redundancies and under-employment, such as working part-time because full-time work isn't available.
Using official UK government data, the TUC has replicated the six measures of US unemployment and found that using the broadest measure of joblessness, U6 or 'total' unemployment in the UK is currently over 6.3 million - the highest it has been since records began in April 1993, when it was 6.1 million.
While ILO unemployment was higher in the early 1990s (peaking at 3.02 million in January 1993) than today, under-employment - people working part-time because they can't find full time jobs - is higher today (1.3 million) than at any point since April 1993, when it stood at 802,000.
The number of economically inactive or discouraged people who want work in the UK is broadly the same today (2.34 million) as it was in April 1993 (2.35 million) having peaked at 2.59 million in December 1996.
The analysis also shows that under-employment - people doing temporary or part-time jobs because they can't find permanent or full-time work - has risen to a record 1.9 million.
The record levels of under-employment today show that our jobs crisis is far worse that the headline figures suggest, says the TUC.
While involuntary part-time and temporary jobs are better than no work at all in most cases, these tend to be low-paid, insecure, have little or no career prospects and so not a sustainable way to solve the UK's labour market problems, says the TUC.
The TUC is calling on the government to acknowledge the scale of the jobs crisis, rather than simply repeat the ill-informed claim that there are plenty of jobs out there. It wants ministers to take action to get vital investment into the private sector so that it starts creating jobs, stop putting hundreds of thousands of public servants on the dole and boost job schemes to get younger people back into work.
The TUC believes that without government stimulus, growth will continue to falter which will cause long-term damage to the UK economy.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: "The headline unemployment figures are bad enough, but the true scale of joblessness is even worse. Over six million people are either out of work or under-employed. Tackling this crisis should be the government's number one priority.
"Our jobs crisis is not confined to those out of work. Nearly two million people are being forced to take low-paid, insecure, short hours jobs because of the lack of proper full-time employment. This means people are taking home much less pay, which is putting a real strain of family budgets.
"When ministers say there are plenty of jobs out there, they are ignoring the sheer numbers of people looking for work, as well as the suitability and location of the jobs available.
"Rather than seek to blame unemployed people for being out of work, the government should start helping them by putting proper resources into employment schemes.
"Unless we get people back into decent jobs and wages growing in line with prices again we will not secure a sustainable economic recovery nor get the deficit down."

Midlands TUC East Midlands Unemployment reaction

Commenting on the latest east midlands unemployment figures published today, (Wednesday), Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said, “The news that another 7,000 people joined the dole queues in the east midlands over the last three months is truly depressing, and worse than we expected.”
“Unfortunately, unemployment in our region is fast becoming a fact of life. We have called on the government previously to take action on growth and jobs and these figures yet again show the need for bold solutions to put people back to work.”
“The news for those in work isn't great either, with pay growth falling and more people having to move to into part-time and insecure self-employment.”
“We are in the midst of a full blown jobs crisis that is causing misery for 190,000 people and their families in the east midlands and ruining any chance of an economic recovery. Ministers must start putting forward bold solutions to address this crisis, starting with a job guarantee for any young person out of work for six months.”
And the stats:
- Unemployment in the East Midlands increased by 7,000 in the three months to November, official figures have revealed.
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that a total of 190,000 people were unemployed in the region between September and November.
- The region's unemployment rate was 8.3% and saw a rise of 3.8% during the period.

Midlands TUC West Midlands Unemployment reaction

Commenting on the latest west midlands unemployment figures published today, (Wednesday), Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said, "The news that another 9,000 people joined the dole queues in the west midlands over the last three months is truly depressing, and worse than we expected, with nearly one in ten workers unemployed.”
“Unfortunately, unemployment in our region is fast becoming a fact of life. We have called on the government previously to take action on growth and jobs and these figures yet again show the need for bold solutions to put people back to work.”
“The news for those in work isn't great either, with pay growth falling and more people having to move to into part-time and insecure self-employment.”
“We are in the midst of a full blown jobs crisis that is causing misery for nearly a quarter of a million people and their families in the west midlands and ruining any chance of an economic recovery. Ministers must start putting forward bold solutions to address this crisis, starting with a job guarantee for any young person out of work for six months.”
And the stats:
- Unemployment in the West Midlands increased by 9,000 in the three months to November, official figures have revealed.
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that a total of 243,000 people were unemployed in the region between September and November.
- The region's unemployment rate was 9.2% and saw a rise of 3.8% during the period.

Unemployment rising by 1,300 a day

Responding to the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday), Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston (above) said: "These figures are even worse than the bleak economic forecasts predicted, with new records achieved for youth and female unemployment.
"The fear is now that mass joblessness becomes a permanent scar on the UK - with unemployment rising by 1,300 a day towards the end of last year.
"The news for those in work isn't great either, with pay growth falling and more people having to move to into part-time and insecure self-employment.
"We are in the midst of a full blown jobs crisis that is causing misery for millions and ruining any chance of an economic recovery. Ministers must start putting forward bold solutions to address this crisis, starting with a job guarantee for any young person out of work for six months."

Nearly 18,000 people set to spend their second successive Christmas on the dole in the east midlands

 

The number of dole claimants who have been out of work in the east midlands for at least a year has increased by 500 since last year. Nationally, over a quarter of a million people are set to spend their second successive Christmas on the dole, according to a new TUC analysis of official statistics published today (Wednesday).

The number of long-term dole claimants over the Christmas period has more than doubled from 7,600 in 2007 to 17,535 today. Last Christmas, 17,035 people had been out of work for at least a year in the east midlands.

The TUC analysis shows that rising long-term unemployment is a problem throughout the country. In the last Christmas before the recession, 29 local authorities had at least 1,000 people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for at least a year. The figure has risen to 105 local authorities this Christmas. Eight of the nine local authorities in the east midlands now have over 1,000 long-term dole claimants.

The number of people spending their third successive Christmas on the dole across the UK has also increased by a third on last year, with 75,000 people currently on JSA for at least two years.

The TUC is particularly concerned about rising long-term unemployment as it can permanently scar people’s career prospects and negatively affect their health. It believes that the government should prioritise providing tailored and well-funded support to help people back into training and work, rather than simply branding them as scroungers.

With unemployment rising and wages having fallen in real terms throughout the year, it’s not just those surviving on unemployment benefit who are set to face a touch Christmas this year, says the TUC. Millions of working families surviving on low wages are also set for a tough time.

The TUC is calling on employers to do their bit to end the poverty pay that contributes to over two million children in working households living in poverty, and for the government to prioritise tackling the UK’s jobs crisis.

Falling living standards has been the main cause of the flatlining of economic growth this year, says the TUC, and the government’s austerity measures are playing a key part in tightening this squeeze.

Wage-led growth, fuelled by decent pay rises and new high quality jobs, is the only way to achieve a sustainable economic recovery and the government must make this its top priority in the new year, says the TUC.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston said: “As people gear up for the festive break, there won’t be much cheer for the 18,000 east midlands residents who are spending their second successive Christmas on the dole.

“The shocking rise in long-term unemployment is not just a personal tragedy for the families and friends of those unable to find jobs, it can affect entire communities and carries a huge economic cost.

“What’s most concerning is that as the dole queues mount, the government’s response has been to brand many of those struggling for work as scroungers.

“The TUC is calling on ministers to make a fresh start in 2012 and focus on tackling our mounting jobs crisis. The UK – one of the richest countries on the world – must not have the shame of millions of its own citizens facing poverty at Christmas with little or no pay.”

Government urgently needs to address labour market deterioration, says TUC

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Today's rise in unemployment points to a worrying deterioration in the UK labour market. And with our so-called 'recovery' stagnating, all the indicators point to further rises in joblessness.
"The number of vacancies is now down to levels last seen in 2009, while female unemployment is at a 23-year high. As public sector job losses mount, employment prospects for many women are looking bleak.
"It is also worrying to see the unwelcome return of rising youth unemployment, with more than one in five young people currently out of work.
"Government complacency over growth is now coming back to haunt the UK and the Chancellor's plans for job creation are woefully inadequate. Even if successful, the new enterprise zones will create fewer jobs in the next four years than have been lost in the last three months.

"The Chancellor urgently needs to put forward a plan B before our economy heads back towards recession and even more people lose their jobs."

Over-50s and retired faring better than young people in jobs market

The last 20 years have seen a significant increase in the proportion of over-50s and people over retirement age in employment, the TUC reveals today (Wednesday).
A new TUC analysis - published to coincide with the latest unemployment figures, which will be issued later this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - finds that the jobs market has changed significantly since 1992.
Age and Gender: What has changed in the labour market in recent years finds that 56.5 per cent of people aged between 50 and 64 were in work in April 1992. This rose to 64.9 per cent by December 2010.
Over the same period, the proportion of those aged over 64 in work rose from 5.5 to 9 per cent. This is a significant increase for retirement age workers, who now make up a bigger share of the total working population.
The report also reveals that young people have become less likely to be in employment over the same period - mainly because of the expansion of education, but also as young people have been hit hard by the recession.
In April 1992 48.8 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds were in employment, but that figure had dropped to around 23.6 per cent by December 2010. Around two in three (65.8 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds were working in April 1992, but this fell to around 58 per cent by the end of 2010.
The proportion of 'prime age' workers (those aged 25 to 49) has remained steady, despite the recession, according to the TUC analysis.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Older people bring a wealth of skills and experience to the workplace. The increasing number of over 65s in work shows that older workers are highly valued and that the government is absolutely right to scrap the default retirement age.
"But there is a darker side to people to working beyond their retirement. Low wages and poor pension provision, particularly in the private sector, mean that many people simply cannot afford to retire at 65. The failure of far too many employers to help staff save for their retirement is forcing these people into pensioner poverty and placing a huge cost burden on the state.
"It is a mistake to blame older workers for youth unemployment - they tend not to be doing the jobs young unemployed people might expect to get. The main reason for young people's jobs crisis is that there just aren't enough new jobs that are appropriate for young people to do being created. And of course the more people we have in work overall, the more the economy grows and the more jobs are created.
"We've seen record youth unemployment figures this year, and the government's decision to scrap the Future Jobs Fund, months before its poorly-funded replacement was due to start, has helped drive the rise in the number of young people out of work.
"Scrapping Education Maintenance Allowance and hiking university tuition fees will only further reduce the chances of young people - and with inflation rising at over twice the level of earnings, those in work are also finding it hard to make ends meet."
Further information
Age and Gender: What has changed in the labour market in recent years is available at www.tuc.org.uk/tucfiles/43/Whathaschangedinthelabourmarketinrecentyears.pdf
For reaction to today's (Wednesday) unemployment figures and further economic analysis please visit www.touchstoneblog.org.uk
For more information about the ONS please visit www.statistics.gov.uk/default.asp

Good news for jobseekers but bad news for those in work, says TUC

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said:
“Today’s figures are a welcome relief for those looking for work but our labour market recovery is still far from secure.
“The surprise fall in unemployment is good news for the millions of people looking for work, although the fall in the number of vacancies from last month is a worrying sign.
“The news for those in work is less positive, with earnings growth falling and the gap between wages and inflation rising sharply to 3.5 per cent. The growing earnings gap is piling the pressure on people’s living standards.
“Rising long-term unemployment and youth joblessness close to a million offer a sobering reality check on today’s upbeat figures.

Government must take action as unemployment hits highest level since recession, says TUC

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics, which show that unemployment in the West Midlands increased by 11.3% to 265,000 in the three months to January, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Today’s figures are shocking. Over a year after the recession technically ended unemployment is now at its highest level since the mid 1990s, with 2.53 million people out of work. We have particular problems in the west midlands as figures show that 27,000 more people were unemployed in the region during the period. “The increase in the unemployment rate for young people is of real concern. Youth unemployment is at a record high, with more than a fifth of young people unable to find jobs, the risks for the future are very real.


“While the fall in the numbers claiming the dole is welcome, the number of jobs available in the economy has also fallen and there are over a million people in part-time work seeking permanent jobs.
“These figures show that the jobs recovery is still some way off. Public sector employment has already fallen 39,000 between September and the end of last year, and with thousands more redundancies still to come – for example in local authorities – this is no time to be cutting back on support programmes for the unemployed.
“This government’s economic policies risk making high joblessness a permanent feature of our economy. It must change course before it’s too late.”


The latest unemployment figures are available at www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0311.pdf

West Midlands sees biggest rise in unemployment - followed by East Midlands

The West Midlands has seen the biggest rise in unemployment in the country, with an increase of 48,000 in the quarter to November, official figures have revealed.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a total of264,000 people were unemployed in the region between September and November.
The region's unemployment rate was 9.9% and saw a rise of 22.2% during the period.
Nationally, unemployment rose by 49,000, with 2.5 million people out of work.
The unemployment rate is now 7.9%, but for 16 to 24-year-olds it is 20.3%. One in five 16 to 24-year-olds are jobless after an increase of 32,000 in the quarter to November to 951,000, the highest figure since records began in 1992.
 
Unemployment in the East Midlands has increased by 15,000 in the same quarter. A total of 186,000 people were unemployed in the region between September and November.
The region's unemployment rate was 8.1% and saw a rise of 8.7% during the period.


The region with the worst rate was the West Midlands, which saw the biggest increase in people out of work at 22.2%, followed by the East Midlands. There were 157,000 redundancies in the latest quarter, up by 14,000 on the previous three months.
Original source:
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No Christmas cheer for the west midlands long-term unemployed, says TUC

Almost a quarter of a million people have now been on the dole for more than a year in the UK – more than twice as many as at the start of the last recession – and lots of them will be spending their second or even third successive Christmas out of work, says the TUC today (Wednesday).


In the west midlands Wolverhampton has the highest percentage increase (39%) with 2,695 people unemployed for more than a year compared to 1165 in the run up to Christmas 2007. Sandwell follows with an increase of 31%, Shropshire with 28% and Walsall with 25%.


The TUC analysis of official unemployment statistics reveals that more than a third of the 232 local authority areas across the UK (88 council areas) now have more than a thousand residents who have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for at least 12 months, compared to just 26 council areas in December 2007.
At the beginning of the last recession, at the close of 2007, 18,175 individuals in the west midlands had been claiming JSA for more than 12 months. Now, almost three years on in November 2010, there are 31,240 who have been struggling to find work for more than a year.


The number of unemployed people outnumbering vacancies by more than five to one across the UK – rising to around 20 to one in some employment blackspots – and the jobs crisis could get even worse in the new year, the TUC warns.
Commenting on the figures, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Across the west midlands thousands and thousands of people have been struggling to find work – some of them for several years now – and for their families there won’t be much to celebrate this Christmas.


“While many families with working adults may be tightening their belts a little this Christmas, the thousands of long-term unemployed households will be anxiously juggling their family budgets, knowing only too well that their JSA of £65.45 isn’t going to buy much Christmas cheer this year.
“And with many local councils in the process of issuing redundancy notices to thousands of their employees over the coming weeks, the future for those about to lose their jobs and those who’ve been out of work for some time looks especially bleak.
“The government’s huge cuts to public spending will see thousands of public sector workers being made redundant in the new year, and those working in the private sector could be hit just as hard.


“We hope many of the people affected will bring their families to join our demonstration against the cuts on 26 March next year to try to show ministers the damage and widespread misery the cuts are causing, and persuade them that it is not too late to change course.”

No Christmas cheer for the East Midlands long-term unemployed, says TUC

Almost a quarter of a million people have now been on the dole for more than a year in the UK – more than twice as many as at the start of the last recession – and lots of them will be spending their second or even third successive Christmas out of work, says the TUC today (Wednesday).In the east midlands Derby has the highest percentage increase (29%) with 1,175 people unemployed for more than a year compared to 910 in the run up to Christmas 2009. Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire all show high double digit increases at 23%, 22% and 19% respectively.


The TUC analysis of official unemployment statistics reveals that more than a third of the 232 local authority areas across the UK (88 council areas) now have more than a thousand residents who have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for at least 12 months, compared to just 26 council areas in December 2007.
At the beginning of the last recession, at the close of 2007, 7,260 individuals in the east midlands had been claiming JSA for more than 12 months. Now, almost three years on in November 2010, there are 17,035 who have been struggling to find work for more than a year.
The number of unemployed people outnumbering vacancies by more than five to one across the UK – rising to around 20 to one in some employment blackspots – and the jobs crisis could get even worse in the new year, the TUC warns.
Commenting on the figures, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Across the east midlands thousands and thousands of people have been struggling to find work – some of them for several years now – and for their families there won’t be much to celebrate this Christmas.
“While many families with working adults may be tightening their belts a little this Christmas, the thousands of long-term unemployed households will be anxiously juggling their family budgets, knowing only too well that their JSA of £65.45 isn’t going to buy much Christmas cheer this year.
“And with many local councils in the process of issuing redundancy notices to thousands of their employees over the coming weeks, the future for those about to lose their jobs and those who’ve been out of work for some time looks especially bleak.
“The government’s huge cuts to public spending will see thousands of public sector workers being made redundant in the new year, and those working in the private sector could be hit just as hard.
“We hope many of the people affected will bring their families to join our demonstration against the cuts on 26 March next year to try to show ministers the damage and widespread misery the cuts are causing, and persuade them that it is not too late to change course.”

Too early to call a jobs recovery

Cheryl Pidgeon

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday), TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said:  “While any fall in unemployment is welcome, it would be dangerously naïve to believe that these figures constitute a jobs recovery. “The overall rise in employment is based on shaky foundations with a notable rise in involuntary part-time work.
“With unemployed people outnumbering job vacancies by five to one it’s time the government focused on helping them back into work, rather than insisting that the labour market is flourishing.”

Over 14,000 will spend their second successive Christmas on the dole in the East Midlands

Over 14,000 east midland people will be spending their second successive Christmas on the dole, a TUC analysis of labour market statistics reveals today (Wednesday).
The TUC analysis shows that the number of people in the region claiming Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) for over 12 months has increased from 6,400 in December 2008 to 14,350 in November 2009 and the number of long-term dole claimants will continue to rise into the new year, the TUC says.

The national analysis reveals that 58 local authority areas already have over 1,000 long-term JSA claimants, compared to just 19 in December 2008. In the east midlands there are two local authorities, Leicester and Nottingham, which have exceeded two thousand JSA claimants. Northampton and Derby have both seen significant increases in the long term unemployed, pushing both local authority areas closer to 1,000 JSA claimants. The number of JSA claimants has more than doubled in 34 local authority areas across the east midlands, with sharp rises away from the three cities in areas such as Erewash, Corby, Blaby, Daventry and Melton.


Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The festive period is an expensive time of year and the 200,000 people spending their second Christmas on the dole face even greater financial hardship.
“While millions of working families are enjoying their Christmas food and presents together, those reliant on JSA will struggle to afford much Christmas cheer.
“Every job loss is a human tragedy, but when people are out of work for over a year they risk being permanently scarred by joblessness.
“Government investment has kept unemployment well below the levels reached in previous recessions, but there can be no room for complacency.
“The Government should extend its job guarantee for young people to anyone out of work for 18 months to stop people getting mired in semi-permanent joblessness.”

For the full release and statistics go to: http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-17373-f0.cfm?regional=6

Over 27,000 people in the west midlands spending second Christmas on the dole

Over 27,000 west midlands people will be spending their second successive Christmas on the dole, a TUC analysis of labour market statistics reveals today (Wednesday).
The TUC analysis shows that the number of people in the region claiming Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) for over 12 months has increased from 15,200 in December 2008 to 27,500 in November 2009 and the number of long-term dole claimants will continue to rise into the new year, the TUC says.
The national analysis reveals that 58 local authority areas already have over 1,000 long-term JSA claimants, compared to just 19 in December 2008. In the west midlands there are now seven local authorities with over 1,000 JSA claimants compared to just one, Birmingham, a year ago. In addition to Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall have all seen significant increases in the long term unemployed, each recording over 1,000 additional JSA claimants since December 2008. The number of JSA claimants has more than doubled in 21 local authority areas across the west midlands, with sharp rises away from the west midlands conurbation in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent, Cannock Chase, Tamworth, Redditch and Stratford-on-Avon.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The festive period is an expensive time of year and the 200,000 people spending their second Christmas on the dole face even greater financial hardship.
“While millions of working families are enjoying their Christmas food and presents together, those reliant on JSA will struggle to afford much Christmas cheer.
“Every job loss is a human tragedy, but when people are out of work for over a year they risk being permanently scarred by joblessness.
“Government investment has kept unemployment well below the levels reached in previous recessions, but there can be no room for complacency.
“The Government should extend its job guarantee for young people to anyone out of work for 18 months to stop people getting mired in semi-permanent joblessness.”

For the full press release and statistics go to: http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-17372-f0.cfm?regional=6

Unemployment to keep rising until the end of next year, says TUC

Although some economists are saying that the end of the recession may be in sight, the TUC is today (Tuesday) warning that unemployment will carry on rising for many months even after the UK economy has begun to pick up.

Using official figures and comparing the current recession to the economic downturn of the early 1990s, the TUC is predicting that the number of people losing their jobs will carry on increasing until at least the autumn of next year.

There has always been a delay between the economy starting to grow and unemployment beginning to fall, as cautious employers make use of capacity among existing staff before recruiting new employees and want to be sure of recovery before expanding their businesses. In the last recession, GDP began to grow in the autumn of 1991, but it was 18 months later before unemployment started to fall.

But this recession is already proving to be much worse than the 1990s recession. The largest quarterly fall in GDP in the 1990s was 1.2 per cent, but the decline between the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 was 1.9 per cent.

The biggest fall over any four consecutive quarters in the 1990s was 2.2 per cent, yet GDP fell by 4.1 per cent between early 2008 and the first quarter of this year.

During the shallower 1990s recession, unemployment rose for 11 consecutive quarters – a period of just under three years. And unemployment rates did not return to their pre-recession levels for seven years. This time around unemployment has only been rising for five consecutive quarters, suggesting we may only be half way through unemployment rising, and some years before it falls to the level before the recession started.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Some now say that we have a recovery, but even if this is not a false dawn, as others fear, it will be years before the thousands of people who have lost their jobs or who will lose them in months to come will see anything to celebrate.
“That’s why tackling unemployment must remain the Government’s number one priority. Speeding up the process of getting people back into work and into jobs with decent pay will not only benefit the two million people currently out of work, but will also give the economy the spending boost it needs.”

Unemployment is another grim milestone, while earnings hold up in real economy

Commenting on the earnings and unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“This is another grim 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.

“But this unemployment has not just been made in Britain, and requires an international response. It is beginning to look like the G20 summit may not agree the co-ordinated boost to the world economy called for by Barack Obama and Gordon Brown.

International summits may seem a long way from the dole queues, but without such a stimulus unemployment will go higher and last longer. We need to put every pressure on world leaders to work together to fight the recession.”

TUC research showing that the unemployed outnumber vacancies by 20 to 1 is available at http://www.tuc.org.uk/welfare/tuc-16119-f0.cfm

Earnings hold up in real economy

Roger McKenzie continued:

"Today's record low earnings figures are not what they seem. The big fall is almost entirely explained by the collapse in city bonuses since last year. In the real economy earnings are still on average increasing by 3.5 per cent. This distortion shows just how ridiculous bonuses were last year, even when we were on the road to recession.
"It is entirely understandable that workers in companies under threat in the recession are settling for modest pay increases or even freezes. But it would be extremely bad news for the rest of the economy if wages didn't continue to rise. A general wage freeze would simply encourage consumers to spend less, and many companies can well afford to pay a reasonable increase."

Rising unemployment is a national emergency

Responding to the latest unemployment figures announced today (Wednesday), TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“This is another set of dreadful figures, and we fear worse is still to come. The number of unemployed people in the West Midlands is up by 20% betweenOctober and December, with the jobless total in the region now at 204,000, up from 170,000.”

“The Government must act as boldly on unemployment as they are on the banking sector. In these tough times, people need to know the Government is on their side.

“Benefits and redundancy pay need to be raised to cushion the financial blow to the newly unemployed. The Government needs urgently to introduce a short time working subsidy to help companies avoid redundancies in the first place.”

Midlands TUC on the latest unemployment figures

Commenting on the official figures published today (Wednesday) which show that unemployment increased to 1.92 million between September and November last year, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“There is no disguising how bad today’s employment figures are. Compared with last month’s figures unemployment is up, employment is down, the number of redundancies is up and the number of job vacancies is down.

“And compared with a year ago the picture is even worse – the unemployment rate is higher for both men and women, for every age group and for every part of the UK except Northern Ireland.

“More importantly these figures stop at November 2008 and do not take into account the redundancies announced over the past eight weeks at companies like Woolworths, Santander, Barclays, Denby, Land Rover, JCB, Burberry, Zavvi, Grattan and Empire Direct. Many of these companies have shed jobs in the Midlands.

“Unfortunately, it seems certain that unemployment will continue to rise for at least the first six months of 2009, with a very strong chance it will pass the 2.5 million mark by June.”