Unemployment rises; affects women more
The unemployment rate for the UK has risen to 7.9% nationally, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics today.
The figures related to the three months to June 2011 and are up 0.1% on the previous quarter.
People saying they are being forced to work part-time is now the highest number since records began.
The unemployment figures hit women harder (21,000 out of the 38,000) – reaching 1.05 million, the highest figure since the three months to May 1988.
Given women’s participation rate in the labour market, an equitable rise would have been just 17,500.
Also in summary:
- The total number of unemployed people increased by 38,000 over the quarter to reach 2.49 million.
- The number of people unemployed for up to six months increased by 66,000 over the quarter to reach 1.23 million. This is the largest quarterly increase in this series since the three months to June 2009.
- The number of unemployed men increased by 18,000 on the quarter to reach 1.45 million.
Tony Dolphin, chief Economist at IPPR says:
Weakness in the labour market is also a reflection of a lack of growth in demand in the private sector caused by higher food and energy prices, slackening overseas demand and the rapid tightening of fiscal policy. Surveys show that this has led to cutbacks in output expectations and employment intentions among companies across the economy.
This lack of demand could be countered by a temporary tax cut or a boost to government capital spending accompanied by an increase in quantitative easing. Contrary to the assertion in yesterday’s letter from the Chancellor to the Governor of the Bank of England, there is no reason to believe a less strict fiscal tightening this year will necessarily lead to monetary tightening.
IPPR analysis shows public sector job cuts and changes to the child element of the Working Tax Credit in the Budget are primarily to blame.
The ONS has also released this video explaining the recent figures
Why Belgium’s economy has performed better than the UK
In the past nine months the UK economy has grown by 0.2%. Belgium, meanwhile has grown by 2.2% – a very healthy performance. In the second quarter of this year it racked up quarterly growth of 0.7% – putting it near the top of the Eurozone growth league.
What’s the secret of the small state’s recent faster growth? Oddly enough, the answer appears to be its lack of functioning government.
But before the small state libertarians open the champagne – the connection isn’t the one they might expect and hope for.
continue reading… »
Tell starving children in East Africa that Britain’s broken
contribution by Amy Pollard
There’s nothing like a riot to bring out the underlying editorial instincts of the British press, and we’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly over the last ten days. In a leader column last week (Tuesday 9th August), the Sun proposed that the government should halt police cuts by slashing overseas aid.
There are numerous ways to boost police budgets, and stopping overseas aid is not the only – or even the obvious option.
But it is an extraordinary proposition that the response to ‘moral breakdown’ in Britain should be to stop an area of government spending that is about doing what is morally right.
continue reading… »
GM Police publish details of riot suspect: his flat gets burnt down
Earlier this week, Greater Manchester Police released the home address of a suspect accused of starting a fire during the riots.
GM Police said they had charged 18-year-old Dane Williamson from Salford with criminal damage.
Williamson has now had his own flat burnt down in what is likely to be retaliatory action.
They published his home address online and tweeted the details.
Google search results
Then they deleted the page (first link on Google) with his details.
When interviewed, Williamson admitted he had been in the vicinity earlier that day but had left by the time of the incident and was on a bus on the way to his brother’s house. He claims its a case of mistaken identity.
Now the flat of the suspect has been burnt down.
At first the police stated it was not a deliberate fire, but later admitted they suspected foul play.
Is it right the police should be publishing personal details of suspects, even before they have been convicted?
Urgent: stop gay asylum seeker being deported
This circular was sent out by LGBT Asylum News today
Robert Segwanyi is a Ugandan gay asylum seeker who was jailed and tortured yet the UK Border Agency wants to remove him this Thursday, 18 August.
This is despite evidence that Robert is “obviously gay”, despite a highly respected psychologist Professor Cornelius Katona saying he is gay and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from his treatment in Uganda, and despite the backing of Robert’s MP, Mike Hancock.
Please help by signing the petition at Change.org or by contacting Home Secretary Theresa May personally.
The UKBA, in writing to Hancock, is standing by an Immigration Judge’s decision last year that:
Even if I am wrong regarding the Appellant’s homosexuality I see no reason to depart from the [then] current country guidance” – this guidance being that “the evidence does not establish that in general there is persecution of homosexuality (sic) in Uganda.
This country guidance was changed in February and now reflects the actual situation for gays in Uganda.
Ugandan gay refugee John Bosco met Robert before he was in Haslar detention centre near Portsmouth and has remained in phone contact. He says:
Robert is in tears and terrified.
It’s a really bad time for him and as a gay Ugandan, I know how hard it is to be gay in Uganda as I was arrested and tortured by police. Many people have been beaten by the public as soon as you have been labelled being gay. When I was deported by the British, you handed me back to government officers and this is what exactly happened to me. I was beaten up really badly.
UK Border Agency are refusing to accept John’s evidence as new as well as other evidence on the deteriorating conditions for LGBT in Uganda.
He has been refused a fair consideration of his case. His campaigners are supporting him in keeping him safe in the UK.
We are urging the Home Secretary to re-examine his case and give him protection in the UK.
You can contact the Home Secretary at:
Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department,
2 Marsham St
London SW1 4DF
Fax: 020 7035 4745
mayt@parliament.uk
UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk
Please don’t forget to quote Robert’s Home Office reference number which is # S1457269
More info – LGBT Asylum News
Why “tough love” won’t help families
Deborah Orr sets out a “tough love” approach which she believes the Left should take towards young people living in poverty in London. Her plan is to close down pupil referral units, children’s social services, youth projects and give the money which this saves to Camilla Batmanghelidjh to run a network of “family therapy centres”.
She argues that a failure to stigmatise unemployed people has helped cause a social crisis, and that setting up family therapy centres and stigmatising the poor will persuade neoliberals to support higher wages for low paid workers.
I’m sure the intentions are good, but I don’t agree with any of this. continue reading… »
Is our society’s facing a moral crisis? Yes it is
In response to the claim that ‘rich people don’t go looting’, I pointed out in a recent blog-post that, actually, yes they do.
And by that I don’t just mean the bankers were bad people for bringing down the economy, which seems to be a common misconception. No – the documented instances of bankers defrauding their customers and engaging in corporate looting are numerous.
continue reading… »
Reality behind Mail and Express’ EU rail scare
Nothing is as reliable a source of scare stories for the Daily Mail and Daily Express as the EU. And that part of both papers’ readership that commutes by rail – much of it in the South-East – is always susceptible to train fare horror stories.
Thus when the Mail decided to frighten its readers over the European Commission (EC) transport white paper, the Express followed as in lockstep. Brussels bid to raise our rail fares by 50 per cent as Government rail subsidies face the axe– thundered this weekend’s Mail on Sunday.
continue reading… »
Compare how the Daily Mail treats two controversies
Remember Sachsgate? The one where Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left a series of less than subtle messages on Andrew Sachs’ voicemail, these being included in a broadcast on 18 October 2008, generating two whole complaints in just over a week?
Of course, after the Mail On Sunday splashed on the story and launched its act of aggression, the number of complaints went into the tens of thousands. But without the righteous attack from Dacre’s finest, the incident might have remained virtually unknown.
That has not been the case with David Starkey.
continue reading… »
Research: UK has a ‘jobs gap’ of over 150k
contribution by Anjum Klair
New TUC analysis published ahead of the latest unemployment statistics shows that the UK has a ‘jobs gap’ – the number of people employed today minus employment levels on the eve of the recession in December 2007 – of 158,000.
Employment levels across the UK in April 2011 (the latest available figures) are down 0.5 per cent on December 2007 although there is considerable variation across the country. Employment is up 122,000 (+3.3 per cent) in London but down 70,000 (-2.8 per cent) in the West Midlands.
The number of people in work is higher than pre-recession levels in London, the East of England and the East Midlands, while the North East, West Midlands and the South West have the widest jobs gaps.
The analysis shows that there were 41,000 more women working in April 2011 than December 2007, and there are 199,000 fewer men in employment.
But in some regions women are still facing a jobs gap – the gap for women is worst in the North East where employment is down 5.1 per cent (28,000 jobs) on pre-recession levels – while female employment in London is up 4.3 per cent (70,000 jobs).
The largest jobs gap for men is in Yorkshire and Humber at 4.3 per cent (57,000 jobs) while London has again improved the most with 52,000 more jobs across the capital.
While the national jobs gap has closed by 50,000 since the start of the year, the number of women in work has not increased at all. Female employment has risen in just three regions in England in 2011 – East Midlands, East of England and London. This suggests that improvements in the female ‘jobs gap’ may not be sustained in the year ahead.
The UK ‘jobs gap’ would be almost twice as large were it not for the employment growth in London.
The surge in employment across the capital is not evenly spread however, with the number of dole claimants outnumbering job vacancies by over 20 to 1 in Haringey, Lewisham, Waltham Forest and Hackney.
And as the size of the working age population has increased since the start of the recession the jobs gap only tells part of the story – in all areas of the UK employment rates remain below their pre-recession levels.
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote
» Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest?
» To win London, Ken Livingstone has to step outside his comfort zone
» This trade agreement with India will destroy thousands of lives
» UK debt hasn’t hit £1 trillion – mostly because of QE
» The benefits of being a “burden” on society
» Today’s economic figures will simply confirm UK’s “lost decade”
» Have Labour realised the election is more than three years away?
» Violence in the office
» Want a more responsible capitalism? Reform how pensions work
» The world is entering the third phase of the crisis, warns ILO
|
19 Comments 33 Comments 59 Comments 18 Comments 15 Comments 25 Comments 38 Comments 7 Comments 64 Comments 11 Comments |
|
LATEST COMMENTS » Sunny Hundal posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Sally posted on Even by economic standards Hester's £1m bonus is unworthy » Flowerpower posted on Diane Abbott resigns from abortion panel » Tom (iow) posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » Anne posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Ian M Davies posted on Week of action against Atos begins Monday » Robert2012 posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » G.O. posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » Dave posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Schmidt posted on Even by economic standards Hester's £1m bonus is unworthy » Link: “govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote” | Help Me Investigate Health posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Planeshift posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » Makhno posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » Trooper Thompson posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » ukliberty posted on Does Priti Patel MP care for human rights? |
