2.2 Million Seeking Jobs In UK

2009 has seen hard times for jobs seekers. New statistics show that the number of unemployed people in the UK now stands at 2.22 Million, an increase of 244,000 in this years first quarter.

The total of those without jobs rose from 6.7% to 7.1%, nearly 600,000 more than this time last year. Both the unemployment rate and the number of people out of work rose at their highest quarterly rates since 1981.

Unemployed benefit claims rose by 57,000 increasing to over 1.5 million. Average earnings including bonuses were 0.4% lower in the first three months of 2009 than they had been in the same period of 2008. Average earnings had not previously fallen since records began in 1991. The ONS said it was “mainly due to lower bonuses in the financial sector”

There was a massive deficit of job vacancies compared to the previous year, with 51,000 fewer than the last quarter of 2008, and a huge 232,000 less than the same period last year.

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