2million jobless as UK faces 'deep recession'
THE Bank of England warned of a deepening recession today as unemployment figures came close to the two million mark.
As it emerged that Britain is losing jobs twice as quickly as the European average, Governor Mervyn King said further monetary action may be needed to stem a sharp economic decline predicted for the first half of 2009
The jobless total reached 1.97 million between October and December, climbing by 146,000 for the three month period.
According to the data from the Office for National Statistics the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance soared by 73,800 to hit 1.23 million in December.
Unions said that while UK unemployment rates were among the lowest in Europe, it had seen the third sharpest increase compared to 15 euro-zone countries last year, with only Spain and Ireland faring worse.
Mass unemployment is not only an economic waste, it’s a recipe for social disaster too.
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The findings follow warnings that Britain is badly placed to weather the global economic storm, despite Gordon Brown’s claims to the contrary.
The International Monetary Fund last month forecast that the UK economy would shrink more sharply this year than that of any other developed country.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The UK began the global recession with a relatively strong jobs position but our advantage is beginning to disappear as redundancies mount.
“British workers are among the easiest and cheapest to lay off in Europe and when they find themselves out of work they get some of the poorest treatment.”
Thousands of UK jobs have been cut since unemployment rose to 1.92 million in November and the jobless total is expected to top three million before the economy begins to recover.
The grim tally came as Tory leader David Cameron warned that Britain was facing a new era of mass unemployment and social breakdown.
He warned that soaring unemployment would spawn social disorder when he made a speech in Birmingham.
Mr Cameron said: “Mass unemployment is not only an economic waste, it’s a recipe for social disaster too.
“When you strip people of their daily purpose, their life structure, you leave them vulnerable to a vicious cycle of deprivation, debt, substance abuse and crime.”
Calling for reform of the welfare system, he warned: “The whole scene has changed. Our economy is now shrinking.
“And there isn’t just a hardcore of people not in work, education or training. We’re in an era of mass unemployment.”
The Prime Minister will today seek to counterbalance the gloomy news when he chairs the first meeting of the National Employment Partnership, a panel of 20 of Britain’s biggest employers.
The organisations, including Royal Mail, major supermarkets, energy and banking giants, will today pledge to help 200,000 people off the dole queue within the next 12 months.
