[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/18/unemployment-public-sector-strikes?commentpage=2#start-of-commentsOh the joy![/url

More work for the Emma Harrison's of this world then.

- The unemployment rate has risen to 8.4%, the highest since November 1995

- The unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds not in full time education is 20.7%, the highest since comparable records began in 1992 although the Labour Force Survey indicates that there was a higher percentage of 16-24 year olds out of work during the mid 1980s.

- The total unemployed has risen to 2.68 million, the highest number out of work since August 1994

- In November 2011 there were 988000 working days lost to strikes, the worst month for industrial disputes since July 1989

Notice how all of these "the highest since" are from the days of the last Tory government. And the 1994/95 era was hardly the worst of those days either, that was regarded as a period of comparable stability after the dark days of the early 1990s, and nowhere near as bad as the early to mid 1980s. It puts in context how things were then, that whilst we regard things as really bad now, it was about the same as in the better days of old Tory government.

I expect as unemployment worsens those "worst since" comparisons will go to different periods of the Thatcher and Major years.

It also puts in context how good things were in the Blair era, despite what people think of his foreign policy.

Its going to get even worse too. When the time limit of ESA comes into effect either this April or next April depending on if the Tories use their 18th century law to overturn the Lords decision that they are threatening to do, around 500,000 claimants who will no longer qualify for ESA will be placed onto JSA.

Comforting to see you doing your bit to keep the figures up

Quote The Tory Graph="The Tory Graph"Mr Grayling attributed the rise in the unemployed to, "people who were previously inactive, students in full time study who are now looking for a part time job, and perhaps women bringing up children thinking they need to go back to work."'" Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs ... -high.html I think it's an absolute disgrace that Chris Grayling chooses to try and excuse the unemployment figures as complex. You'd think that after Tony Blair's 'Education, education, education' era would be best followed by a coalitions 'Jobs, jobs, jobs' era. But no we just have this sorry excuse of a policy.

Quote The Tory Graph="The Tory Graph"Mr Grayling attributed the rise in the unemployed to, "people who were previously inactive, students in full time study who are now looking for a part time job, and perhaps women bringing up children thinking they need to go back to work."'" Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs ... -high.html I think it's an absolute disgrace that Chris Grayling chooses to try and excuse the unemployment figures as complex. You'd think that after Tony Blair's 'Education, education, education' era would be best followed by a coalitions 'Jobs, jobs, jobs' era. But no we just have this sorry excuse of a policy.

It goes up when Tories are in office.

Its a price worth paying.

Get on your bike...

Whats the problem? I've heard a couple of people say the private sector will expand to provide jobs for all the unemployed!

That doesn't sound bad compared to 30 years ago. There used to be over 3 million unemployed when the population was smaller back in 82! news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/date ... 506335.stm I have a feeling though that the way the collect the figures is different now and who they classify unemployed is different now, so maybe if you went by the 1982 method, at present there'd be a hell of a lot more.

That doesn't sound bad compared to 30 years ago. There used to be over 3 million unemployed when the population was smaller back in 82! news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/date ... 506335.stm I have a feeling though that the way the collect the figures is different now and who they classify unemployed is different now, so maybe if you went by the 1982 method, at present there'd be a hell of a lot more.

I fear this might be the case too. The Wolf report last year highlighted the 'collapse of the youth labour market'.

In 1974, 74% of 18 year olds were in work (17% in education/training)
In 2009, 40% of 18 year olds were in work (40% in education/training)

Thats why the figures today are generally quoted as the "ILO unemployment rate" which is the unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organisation, so that you can have more transparent comparisons from country to country and from year to year.

Here's a graph of the ILO defined unemployment rate in the UK: