Over 200,000 face 2nd year of Christmas on dole

The TUC announced on Tuesday that Christmas cheer is likely to be in short supply in many households as JSA claimants shot up from 103,930 in December 2008 to 201,015 in November 2009.

The number of JSA claimants has more than doubled in 267 local authority areas across Britain.

Former industrial heartlands such as Sheffield and Dudley have seen a 264 per cent and 256 per cent rise respectively.

Compounding the misery for over 200,000 unemployed workers this Christmas is the high cost of Christmas dinner.

Currently the basic weekly dole rate is £64.30 and £50.95 for under 26 year olds.

But according to Grocer Magazine even the most frugal of families selecting the cheapest frozen turkey, potatoes and Christmas pudding is likely to be paying out around £100.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber called on the government to extend its job guarantee for young people.

"When people are out of work for over a year they risk being permanently scarred by joblessness," he said.

"The government should extend its job guarantee for young people to anyone out of work for 18 months."

Communist Party of Britain economic committee member John Foster said the figures brought home "the grim reality of capitalism" for ordinary people.

"Figures show our economy has contracted by six per cent over the past year.

"This underlines the government's failure to secure continued investment in industry," he said.

Mr Foster urged the trade union movement to step up the campaign for public ownership of the banks "so investment and growth can resume.

"This is our duty to all those families who this year will not able to afford a proper Christmas," he added.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow insisted there needed to be an alternative to "casino capitalism" by implementing policies laid down in the People's Charter.