Labour isn't working (again)!!

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Pictured: Thousands of desperate job seekers queue at work fair as unemployment hits 2.47million

 

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 11:19 AM on 14th October 2009

 

 

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• Around 10,000 job seekers flood work fair
  
• Unemployment climbs another 88,000 to 2.469m
  
• Youth unemployment falls fractionally to 946,000
  

They had all gone down to the employment fair in the hope of finding a new job and turning their life around - but the queue itself showed quite how desperate their search would prove.

With posts at Tesco, the Metropolitan Police and the Fire Brigade among those on offer, thousands flocked to the one-day jobs fair in London yesterday.

An estimated 10,000 arrived in Canary Wharf, with the huge queue weaving around the block. The event was so inundated that organisers has to start turning people away by the afternoon.

 

Enlarge Join the queue: Desperate job seekers line up for the work fair at Canary Wharf in London

The picture of the snaking line of desperate job seekers provided a depressing snapshot of the toll the recession has taken on Britain's workforce, as the jobless total climbed to 2.47million today.

 

 

Another 88,000 lost their jobs in the three months to August, according to the Office for National Statistics, although its latest data provided some signs the labour market may be stabilising.

compares with the 210,000 gain recorded for the three months to July,

The number of people on jobseeker's allowance rose 20,800 to 1.63million in September, its highest since April 1997 but the smallest increase since May last year.

 

And fears of youth unemployment hitting 1 million were scotched as it actually reduced fractionally, down from 947,000 to 946,000 in the quarter to August.

 

Meanwhile, the number of vacancies held firm at 434,000 to finally bring to an end a constant plunge since April last year.

 

 

Enlarge

Scramble: An estimated 10,000 people flocked to the event in the heart of London

 

 

Disappointment: So many job seekers turned up that they had to be turned away by organisers

The jobless rate was also stable at 7.9 per cent - the first time it has stayed the same since the start of 2008.

The total number of people out of a job slid back by 1,000 in real terms, pulling the figure back from a 14-year high. Redundancies in the three months to August were also down 68,000 to 233,000.

 

UNEMPLOYMENT BY REGION

 

Breakdown: Number unemployed, change on previous quarter, unemployment rate

North East: 118,000, +3,000, 9.5%

 

North West: 300,000, +17,000, 8.7%

Yorkshire / Humber: 226,000, -5,000, 8.6%

East Midlands: 165,000, -3,000, 7.1%

West Midlands 281,000, +5,000, 10.4%

East Midlands: 200,000, +13,000, 6.7%

London: 354,000, +6,000, 8.7%

South East: 267,000, -2,000, 6.1%

South West: 179,000, +12,000, 6.6%

Wales: 130,000, +24,000, 9.1%

Scotland: 192,000, +13,000, 7.1%

N. Ireland: 57,000 plus 7,000 7.1%

(Source: ONS figures for June-August)

 

However, average earnings including bonuses rose 1.6 per cent over the quarter - down 0.2 per cent on the previous month. Excluding bonuses, they grew 1.9 per cent - the lowest rise for eight years.

Paul Kenny from the GMB union said: 'Bad as these figures are, there are some tentative signs of a very fragile recovery in the economy.'

 

Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'These figures show families across the country are still being affected by the global recession.

'Although unemployment isn't as high today as many feared it would be at the time of the Budget, it remains a serious problem, which is why we must keep increasing support and advice to get people back into jobs. We will not leave them on their own.'

The Government revealed it is creating 5,000 more jobs for young people through its Future Jobs Fund, taking the total to almost 60,000.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220302/Huge-queue-desperate-job-seekers-unemployment-hits-2-47m.html#ixzz0TuClDgOx