Jobless figure could be much higher
Friday 07 September 2012
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EmailA recent study by Sheffield Hallam University unveiled evidence that unemployment in Britain is at its hightest rate in 15 years. The report hammers yet another nail in the coffin of coalition rhetoric asserting that austerity equals growth.
Joblessness in Britain could be as high as 3.5 million, almost a million more than the highest official estimate, according to the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research.
It discovered that recipients of incapacity benefit are being deliberately omitted from jobless figures and it has already been estimated that at least a million more will be thrown on the dole before 2015.
Research leader Professor Steve Fothergill said: “Our figures on unemployment cast serious doubt on the likely impact of the government’s Work Programme and Universal Credit. They assume that unemployment can be brought down simply by encouraging people to work.
“It suited successive governments to hide the true scale of unemployment because official figures reflected well on their policies.”
Whoever governs us next must crucially focus on a genuinely fair and sustainable alternative, instead of wasting precious time on hollow mantras.
Daniel Pitt
Mountain Ash
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