To wonder why unemployment is falling?

[wetaugust]

When shops around here are closing and some of the big chains were virtually empty last weekend?

Where are all these jobs coming from?

[etoo]

whats more - we now have auto opt into pensions - which in my guess, wont even exist when i retire

I would think they will still exist - they just won't be worth an awful lot. By 2018 they should be 8% of salary paid in, as a really rough estimate you might pay in about £65k over 40 years if you earn an average of £20k a year. Which is probably going to get you a pension of under £200/mth if you retire at 65. And the state pension for anybody under 35 I would guess would be payable at age 70 or over by the time we get there, so basically you aren't going to be able to retire on the governments workplace pension scheme alone.

[wanderings]

Because David Cameron's orders to his staff were akin to "I don't care what the reality is, get me some figures that tell the public what I need them to hear."

[Seff]

Statistics can be manipulated to say anything you want. And of course, then there are the downright lies.

[NearTheWindmill]

Well we are in London and I work in HR. In 2009/10 we were getting over 100 applicants for £24,000-£30,000 admin roles many from people who had been earning £45,000ish. Now we are getting about 20 and the quality has bombed - we are lucky to be able to put together a short-list of 6 and of those lucky if there is an appointable candidate. Not yet back to the situation in 2005/6 when we were getting one or two applicants for that sort of post because we paid £10k less than corporates a hop or a skip away on the tube. Nevertheless it feels as though the tide has turned and I feel I could move quite easily now.

Also, the shops here at Christmas were advertising widely for Christmas staff - even M&S had posters up and just a week or two ago dd was helpful in a local jewellers when we were choosing a Christmas present and was asked if she wanted a Saturday job. She's 15.

I have a sense that the market is turning but I think that those who have been unemployed for two or three years will have difficulties getting back on where they were pushed off and will have to think about stepping backwards/retraining.

[tiredoutgran]

Because when they are made to go on courses they are taken off the figures - it is just a load of crap! People are being sent for training in fields that are just not right for them, and being forced to go, just to make the figures look better. The 'jobcentres' are useless, they used to help people find jobs, now they just move them around.

[DontmindifIdo]

Nearthewindmill - interestingly as well, there does seem to be a lot of movement with friends/friends DHs (most London based) - there seems to be a lot more confidence so people are looking to move jobs, not holding on fearing "last one in, first one out" or worrying they'll jump and miss out on large redundancy payments! It seems the "just grateful to have any job" feeling is lifting and more people are looking around again.

But as I said earlier, it's dangerous if its just a regional recovery, its too easy to forget the other parts of the country that aren't bouncing back.

[Ehhn]

Yes but At PMQs, ed miliband didn't attack david Cameron on the unemployment figures and instead praised them. Surely if the figures were massaged, labour would use that information to show the failure of the coalition? Ed mainly focused on the cost of living crisis (which Is a serious issue) and the real time fall in wages as they have stayed static/increased slower than inflation, but not unemployment figures.

[Custardo]

i am becoming seriously disheartened with Ed, he just seems tofollow the tory policies - don't know what labour are doing at the moment

[sashh]

Numbers falling has nothing to do with jobs, the figures are for 'unemployed and claiming out of work benefits' so anyone who has been sanctioned disappears from the figures.

[nickymanchester]

like i said even if your NOT sanctioned and recieving JSA and are on the work programme YOU come of the figures

Is this really true?

Everyone who has been out of work for 12 months goes onto the work programme automatically. Are they really all being excluded from the figures?

[Darkesteyes]

johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/huge-numbers-on-workfare-mask-true-unemployment-crisis/

[granny24]

When further education staff were transferred to an agency - govt funded - they got taken off government employee figures and classified as privately employed. Wonder how many similar cases.

[NoJusticeJustUs]

When I was made redundant in 2012 I was allowed to claim jsa for six months, that was it.

After six months I wasn't entitled to any benefits and I was no longer a statistic, I just ceased to be a number on the unemployed list, I had worked for 20 years at that point so not a case of not having paid enough ni or anything like that.

I should imagine the drop in unemployment is a lot of people getting to the end of their six months !

The real picture is probably that the unemployment figures are going through the roof.

Luckily I found a job soon after but it was tough going for a while, how people who don't have family to bail them out manage I really don't know

[maleview70]

There are definitely signs of recovery in the UK economy and as such companies are starting to employ again.
Waitrose announced 2000 jobs today, subway expect to create 7000 over the next few years.

Many of these will be part time.

You have to also realise that many unemployed people actually want to remain that way. A firm I deal with has recently struggled to fill 3 vacancies paying more than minimum wage with applicants sent by the job centre. Most who turned up we're only interested in getting a form signed to say they had been for the interview. The owner has employed 3 polish staff as he knows they work hard and don't mind the unsocial hours.

Youth Unemployment is much higher of course.

People now have to work much longer as pensions are inadequate. This blocks the natural progression.

When I was starting work unemployment was very high but people were often retiring at 50-55 with pay offs and final salary pensions.

[DontmindifIdo]

Custardo - actually, it suits Ed Milliband that the economy is improving, middle class people are more likely to vote for Labour during a strong economy and when they feel more secure. A lot of people voted Tory last time because they didn't trust Labour to drag us out of recession, the ideal situation for the Tories at the next election is to be able to say "look, things are better than they were, and better than they would be if you'd voted for Brown last time round, but the work isn't done yet, lots of work left to be done, don't let Labour ruin it all again."

Ed Millibrand needs to be able to say "well, everythings fine now, so why are you still doing the austerity thing?" (obviously better worded than that!)

[maleview70]

I would be amazed if milliband and his sidekick get in.

I am traditionally a labour voter but can warm to him at all.

I can't see many Tories voting for him.

[nickymanchester]

NoJusticeJustUs

When I was made redundant in 2012 I was allowed to claim jsa for six months, that was it.

After six months I wasn't entitled to any benefits and I was no longer a statistic

After 6 months you go onto income based JSA unless you have more than £16,000 in savings. Once you have savings of less than this figure then you start getting JSA again. You must have an awful lot of money saved up.


Darkesteyes

The link you gave was referring to workfare progammes, I was specifically asking about the Work Programme. These are two totally different things.

[NoJusticeJustUs]

Nope, no savings, no money ! My husband was earning just over minimum wage and this was deemed enough to keep me and two children.

It wasn't !

[ivykaty44]

Unemployment is falling as we have an aging population and people stop being unemployed and start claiming their pension ;) so every week unemployment falls

But 42% of the benefit budget is pension...

[BabyMummy29]

nickymanchester my OH got jsa for 6 months and is now entitled to nothing at all because he is living with me. He was told he could reapply but on the form it asked about my earnings, savings etc.

I didn't see why I should give this information so as a result he gets nothingl. He is unemployed but can't claim benefits so doesn't count towards official statistics of unemployment

[allthingsfluffy]

Those who are out of work through temporary misfortune, but who have contributed for several years, should be treated with respect and dignity. Those who choose to leech; those who are on benefits as a lifestyle choice should be subject to tough love (food stamps instead of money would be a good start).

Food stamps are unworkable no matter who is given them. And the fact is, introduce foodstamps for the "leeches" is just the thin end of the wedge.

A man I know is claiming JSA. He has worked all his life and has been claiming now for 3 months. They changed his signing time, didn't notify him, then when he showed up "late" they gave him a warning letter. It basically said that if he was late again he would be sanctioned, no benefits for 6months . But the member of staff wrote on the notes that he was given a "sanction letter" so the person processing the payment sanctioned him.

Everyone, regardless of who they are or how long they have worked, is being treated like a dog.

I didn't see why I should give this information so as a result he gets nothing.

Because if he is living with you then you are a household, and the employed one should be supporting the other. If you have a problem with that then perhaps you need to rethink your relationship.

[BabyMummy29]

Rethink my relationship I don't think so. He has worked all his life and moved to live with me. He doesn't expect to be kept by me.

[allthingsfluffy]

But the government isn't going to pay out for a person who is unemployed just because he doesn't expect to be kept by his partner.

And why use that term anyway ffs. You are a couple. Isn't the point of being in a relationship to look after each other, no matter which one is unemployed.

You will deny it I am sure, but if the shoe was on the other foot I think it would be highly likely that you would expect him to "keep you" while you seeked employment.

[BabyMummy29]

I would not expect to be kept by anyone...... and what does "seeked" mean? That's a new one on me.

I think you mean sought.

[allthingsfluffy]

My point still stands, no matter how pedantic you would like to get.

He doesn't expect you to keep him, but he expects the tax payer to?