Get Britain Working is totally missing the current employment crisis economy

[myotheraccountsa]

Just read the BBC article about rate of UK unemployment up to 5% - the gvmt saying people should question the accuracy of this data, but also that it ties into their campaign to "Get Britain working".

I am mind blown. Are they not seeing what I'm seeing? This isn't an issue with people on benefits etc -

There's a huge new tidal wave of very highly qualified people who have been merrily working for all their lives, now made redundant or upon leaving theor jobs literally cannot find anything. There's a Mid-Senior level crisis all over LinkedIn - 500+ people applying for every 1 job. People searching for over a year with hundreds of applications, interviews, and getting nothing. Basically being told that nowadays the only way to get a job is through networking - it's back to who you know, not what you know.

And then the government act all surprised and like they haven't taxed businesses on workers to the point that they're cutting heads wherever they can? Or that they are oblivious to this and everyone should "get back to work" like it's easy for an ex-SVP to persuade the local chippy they're the ideal employee (even if they're desperate and would willingly work there).

Madness.

And not only that, but people on benefits who don't work due to disabilities etc, are expected to be able to go back to work - but where is the support? And I don't mean temporary support. I mean ongoing support. Support from the government initially, and then support from workplaces that is regulated, and sufficient training for employers regarding mental health issues, neurodiversity and obviously other disabilities too.

The current state of understanding disabilities is abysmal, and as much as people/employers spout out about support, they don't actually support people to the best of their ability.

Just another example of the government being totally out of touch with reality.

We are a nation of failing businesses / businesses wanting the government to tip up wages with benefits, businesses wanting the government to support the disabled and sick

ny suspicion is its globalisation / we can’t compete with the poverty level wages and abusive working conditions around the world but we are happy to buy the cheap products so created

but it’s easier to blame the government than ourselves

Completely agree. The most employable people are unable to get a job. It took a close relative 18 months and an insane number of applications. She has excellent experience and a stellar record in the exact area she was applying for jobs in. No gaps in CV (was abroad for a couple of years (working in same area) hence looking for a new job when she returned). Eventually got one through a contact.

AI was always going to cause this, same is happening in the USA, Australia and in the Eurozone.

Even when there is no AI solution, employers are worried there might be, so are scrapping job openings.

Agree with you! I saw an article about this yesterday and my thought was, it's not that people don't want to work, it's that there are no jobs! At my place, a number of people were made redundant last summer. The rest of us are hanging on by a thread. The reality is that in IT, jobs are being outsourced to cheaper countries. The redundancies have made me pay attention more to the job market - and it's dire! I heard from one guy who was let go, that he couldn't even get a job as a shelf-stacker this Christmas! Ageism is also a huge problem.

Yes, and add to that the current cohort of graduates are finding entry level roles have been cut hugely too. So thats two groups finding it hard to get work.

There is work in hospitality and carework locally, but not enough for everyone looking for work. Plus the hospitality sector is nuts. They just cancel your shift an hour into it which is fine as a student, but shit if you organised childcare..
.

You also need to factor in our wages and taxation system failing to incentivise the outcomes the government wants.

Minimum wage at mid 20k a year for working in Tesco Vs the lab supervisor with huge responsibility and multiple degrees on 30k a year. Not that I'm saying Tesco is easy, but we need an honest look in this country about what responsibilities pay because it's no wonder many people are now saying fuck this. I have loads of examples of people in my social network reviewing what they're doing.. the jobs that used to be a chunk of remuneration a above minimum wage just aren't attractive enough. All sorts of roles. I have one family member who's had her temp job shop manager turn into a permie job offer but she's mulling other options because for about 20p an hour more is it worth the abuse , early opens, late lock ups, being on call for security alarms. Hell nope. Maybe if it paid enough to own a small flat or living life like an independent worker adult yes.. but that's just not true any more.

Then you have the 100k tax cliff where people just go down to 4 days a week rather than be hit by the slams of childcare no longer funded, loss of personal allowance, student loan repayments, etc plus the higher taxes we pay on income in Scotland.. there's absolutely no point pushing to get more stress and responsibility if you barely see any reward for missing even more sports days, having no work life balance, being run ragged by your employer. I can speak with more authority on this one because for the first time in my life, having been a go go go go full on careerist all my life, I'm looking at what I have for it and starting to think about how attractive that 3 or 4 day work week looks for barely any loss in net income Vs being able to see the kids more and just.. I don't know. I strongly believe in the welfare state and paying taxes. But. We're in trouble when people like me are seriously considering stepping back.

YANBU.

In the three months to September 2025, there were approximately 717,000 unfilled vacancies in the UK, which is a decrease of 9,000 from the previous quarter. This continues a downward trend, with the number of vacancies falling below pre-pandemic levels and reaching the lowest point since April 2021.

The number of unemployed people per vacancy was 2.4 in June to August 2025, up from 2.3 in the previous quarter.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/jobsandvacanciesintheuk/october2025

It's not going to get better in any meaningful sense - and it's not just the UK. The 'work for your living' model has to change. The writing's been on the wall for 50 years. Can't say I blame any government for not wanting to tackle it, but the pace of automation's increasing so fast now.

There isn’t any money for support. Years of profligacy on the wrong things means most of the money is spent repaying the interest on debt for money they’ve already spent.

My ds appplied for about 50 summer jobs last year before actually getting one (uni student)

lots of places are laying people off

the govt has totally disincentivised work and disincentivised employing people

what’s the point in working anyway - this govt just want everything off you anyway

I worked in supporting job seekers, not for a government funded programme. I was made redundant last October and took early retirement, not on my pensions which are pitiful, but DH's. Ability to retrain / FE decimated, NEETS off the scale, saw entry level / no skill jobs decimated, employers not replacing staff, apprenticeships replacing high level / experienced roles (this caused all sorts of issues), no graduate roles but most of the staff already graduates in many organisations, AI used to justify cuts and ageism used to block candidates from roles for a variety of reasons... then there's wage stagnation and it's no wonder the EU want to open our doors to their young, is it! All our government is doing is merging the often inept careers service with the dire job centre setups to deal with NEETS, they haven't a clue and have failed to listen for decades!

What's the point? Labour will just confiscate your earnings and pass it to the idle to live a lifestyle that you can't afford. Might as well cut out the middle man.

Hmm, where are all these ultra qualified people who can't find jobs, I wonder?

We're a decent employer. Very positive reviews on glass door etc. Salaries are benchmarked against the rest of our sector. We offer very flexible hours and hybrid working, or full home working for some roles. Good training opportunities. Annual leave, sick pay, pension contributions etc all above the statutory requirements. Supportive management and positive culture with a focus on staff wellbeing. Interesting work.

Recruitment is somewhat easier than it was a few years ago, and we do get more applications now than we did straight after the pandemic, but we certainly aren't seeing lots of high calibre applicants who are struggling to find work. Where are they all?!

Who do you work for and how can I find a job with you 🤣

What industry are you in. I will point my sons degree options in that direction!

Is the issue that you're not getting many applicants (in which case, possibly a visibility issue?) or that you're getting flooded with "bad" or bot-written applications?

Could you tell us a bit more?

Then that's up to them to rectify it. It's not up to us disabled people to put up and shut up and deal with shit jobs to make the government happy. (I know you didn't say anything of the sort, but I think that's genuinely how the government views disabled people)

My wife would love to work but we are stuck with nothing being available in school hours. She isn't looking for anything huge, just a chance to do a few hours of honest work.

It seems that at all levels the work isn't there.

I agree.

Labour damages small businesses and their ability to employ staff when they increased their NI contributions.

Add to that Brexit making it more difficult for business to function, AI replacing some jobs and many businesses still recovering from Covid then you have a perfect storm.

Retraining is also really expensive as we have extortionate tuition fees.

That is why it is ludicrous to suggest that many disabled people can just magically find and retain jobs when employers won't even consider people who need reasonable adjustments, might need time off work for treatment/sickness and have gaps in their CVs because their health conditions meant they could not work when they have so many people who don't have these issues flooding them with CVs and application forms...

It just shows that Reeves and the rest of the government are completely detached from reality and unwilling to admit that they are messing up badly.

I don't know what else to say? I won't share the sector or further details that would identify the organisation.

I can only say that we just don't see many high calibre applicants these days - not like we did before. It isn't just our organisation either - I know others that are struggling to find the right people.

I currently work in hospitality and have worked in care, my back and hips are knackered at 46, partly because of the way I am 'designed' (discovered now I'm having issues) and partly because of the physical effects of both jobs over the years. I am looking at a hip replacement in the next 10 years.

I've also had some mental health issues recently and have been moved departments since having time off sick because I can't perform that role the way they want it done now, and am having shifts cut short or cancelled completely at the last minute - I understand why, when it's quiet the business can't afford to pay you to stand around or clean things that are already clean, but I have to be available for the shifts I'm rota'd for - which means I can't be available for another job, and I also don't get finish times so can't commit to a start time with another employer, but then some weeks am coming out with 25 hours and some over 40, and rota's are not issued until the Saturday before they start on the Monday, nearly all other hospitality and care roles are the same, so moving employers just means the same issues with a different employer. Though I am looking.

With those types of restrictions imposed I'm not sure how the hell I'm supposed to earn enough to live on, how I'm supposed to be available to more than one employer when they both want me available 24/7 but will also cancel or cut short a shift at very short notice, I can have 5 shifts on the rota from one place at the start of the week at around 40 hours but end up with 25 hours because I have one cancelled and the rest cut short which means I actually am available but don't know it until that moment.

Absolutely willing to work 2/3/4 jobs, 40/50 hours a week - but finding that impossible to organise when I am rota'd for 40 hours, actually working 25 and have no idea when those 25 will actually happen.

The only answer is to move out of hospitality and care completely - but there's nothing out there, but because I'm reliant on top ups from the weeks that I have hours cut short I need to apply for the same roles as I'm already doing, so it's an endless loop of 5 shifts rota'd, job applications where I can't give availability because of the other job and so it continues. And I'm told it's my 'lifestyle choice wanting to work part time' that's the problem - I was working 50 hours a week over summer, will likely be doing that again over Christmas, would be doing that now if I could.
I think people have no idea how these industries operate, how they create a lot of the problems that we're facing - but then having to give people set hours and shifts will increase the prices as that needs to be paid for no matter what the business is making.
It's just a bloody mess, one I hope I can get out of soon, but there just doesn't seem to be any full time roles I can do in my area, though I continue looking!

OP I agree with you.

We're being spun a similar narrative to the 'there are so many NEETs as they're all at home with mental health issues'.

Like many posters on other threads I know capable, qualified graduates with work experience who are struggling from temp job to temp job with periods of unemployment in between. Some of these graduated two years ago and have already faced multiple redundancies.
The ones faring best are those who can live with parents rent free (and those parents live in locations where jobs are). So an accident of birth then.

Housing costs in particular mean that some simply cannot afford to live where there may be more jobs. Variable transport infrastructure means some simply cannot afford to travel to where there may be more jobs.

People can't be expected to get into debt in order to be employed. If people can't afford to give up housing benefit etc because the wages that replace it simply don't cover the exorbitant rent charged by the private landlord with one eye on the property market - what is it we expect people to actually do? Become homeless in order to be employed?

But its easier to focus everyone's attention on blaming the luxurious benefit system or asylum seekers or [insert scapegoat].

School hour jobs are the holy grail,there aren’t that many,she will have to work evenings or weekends if you don’t have childcare .