2.38 million Britons jobless

S Kalyana Ramanathan / London July 16, 2009

Jaguar’s plan to cut 300 more jobs today at its Halewood plant comes at a time when unemployment numbers in the UK have risen to record levels, at 2.38 million. UK’s Office for National Statistics in its monthly statement today said the unemployment rate was 7.6 per cent in the three months to May, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous three months and up 2.4 percentage points on the year. The unemployment level of 2.38 million was up 281,000 on the previous three months and up 753,000 on the year.

Commenting on these figures which show unemployment at its highest level since 1995, Katja Hall, director of employment policy with industry body CBI, said: “This hefty rise is in line with our forecast and reflects the tough climate that businesses face. Sadly, more and more jobs will be lost in this difficult recession and we expect unemployment to peak at three million next spring.”

Alan Tomlinson, partner, UK insolvency practitioners, Tomlinsons, further said that real unemployment in the private sector is higher than the figures reveal, but is being masked by the relative buoyancy of the public sector.