UK unemployment rose by 128,000 in the three months to October to 2.64 million, the highest level since 1994. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate was 8.3%, up from 7.9% in the previous quarter.
Youth unemployment rose to 1.027 million, the highest since records began in 1992, beating the previous record set only last month.The number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 3,000 to 1.6 million in November.
The young continued to bear the brunt of the lack of jobs in the UK – a problem shared by many other countries. The unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds rose to 22% in the three months to October, up from 20.8% three months earlier. Although this was the highest rate since formal records began in 1992, the ONS said it estimated that the rate had been higher in the mid-80s.
High youth unemployment is seen as one of the biggest problems confronting societies around the world, condemning whole generations to a life of much reduced income. “Too many young lives are being wasted in the dole queue,” said Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’s Trust youth charity.It is frightening to think that more than two-fifths of unemployed young people have been jobless for more than six months.
“Long-term unemployed young people are the most vulnerable, with many trapped in a vicious cycle of joblessness, anxiety and depression.”
The latest rise in joblessness fell more heavily on men, with a 83,000 increase in male unemployment, compared with 45,000 among women.
Source: BBC News, ONS
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