Jobs market 'fragile', but could be improving

16/10/2009

Latest unemployment figures could show that "stability" has returned to the UK jobs market, new analysis suggested today (October 16th).

Thomas Usher, research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), said that the data could be seen as positive, but that the jobs market still remains "fragile".

The official figures, released earlier this week, showed a smaller-than-expected 0.3 per cent increase in the jobless total for the three months to August 2009.

This means that unemployment stood at 2.47 million - a 14-year high.

Joblessness is expected to continue to rise until 2010, even as the economy recovers from the recession.

Mr Usher said: "It's fair to say that the situation is not getting worse as fast as some people were anticipating it would.

"There is finally a certain amount of stability in the jobs market, but it is fragile – all it takes is for the economy to stumble and that situation in the labour market could reverse very quickly."

Earlier this week, analysis from the Trades Union Congress suggested that youth unemployment remains a severe problem for the UK.

The organisation said that, based on the latest official figures, 39 per cent of the nation's 16 to 24-year-olds have been unemployed for six months or more.

Tags; Retirement Money Problems, Job loss, Recent Graduate Debt,

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