UK unemployment hits 14-year-high

17/09/2009

The level of unemployment in the UK has risen to a 14-year high, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

With a majority of employment sectors continuing to make cutbacks on the back of the economic downturn, the official figures show that some 2.47 million Britons are now out of work.

This brings the national unemployment rate to 7.9 per cent, up from 5.6 per cent just 12 months ago, while among the 16 to 24 age group, this proportion is now as high as almost one in five.

Commenting on these latest ONS figures, former Bank of England official Professor David Blanchflower stated: "Firms have stopped hiring at a time when there are lots of young people around. This is a national disaster.

"The government needs to do everything it can to get them off the unemployment registers. I believe there is going to be another huge jump."

Meanwhile, the government's own data has also revealed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits has risen to 1.61 million after an increase of 24,400 in August.

Tags; Job loss,

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