Unemployment Declines Amid Anxiety Over Public Sector Cuts

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (OFS) has revealed that the level of unemployment in the UK declined by 8,000 to 2.47 million in the three months to July. However, a rising claimant count in August bucked the trend and some experts fear there is bad news for the job market, which traditionally lags behind the rest of the economy in a recession, around the corner, particularly if the predicted number of public sector job cuts materialises.

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics (OFS) has revealed that the level of unemployment in the UK declined by 8,000 to 2.47 million in the three months to July. However, a rising claimant count in August bucked the trend and some experts fear there is bad news for the job market, which traditionally lags behind the rest of the economy in a recession, around the corner, particularly if the predicted number of public sector job cuts materialises.

The Government is hoping that the private sector will pick up much of this slack over the next five years, however, David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce sounded a note of caution “there is no room for complacency and the labour market must prepare for the impact on jobs that will result from the government’s deficit-cutting measures”.

The ONS report also revealed that a fifth of the long-term unemployed are over the age of 50, which could result in many approaching retirement with a large debt problem in tow and a significantly lower income to service it.

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