ONS stating UK in recession due to unemployment.

[Poppybob]

Read in news this morning, and thought was interesting as I agree that the UK can't sustain the amount of unemployment/people on benefits for much longer.

Total of 9.3m people of working age are classed as 'economically inactive'

a good portion of that will be young people trying to be influencers.

NHS backlogs and cuts means people are not being treated for their health issues, which means many of them can't work.

Also, the DWP stopped all reviews of existing sick claims during covid. 3+ years of no checks to see if the recipient still qualifies. It's going to take years to clear the backlog.

Do you have a link to support your assertion that it's unemployment and benefits that means we're in a recession?

Because according to the ONS it's other factors that are causing this

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/gdpfirstquarterlyestimateuk/octobertodecember2023

In addition to poor treatment for existing conditions It’s hard to think of jobs which haven’t become harder. Nurses stretched past breaking point and not able to meet basic nursing standards, teachers doing ridiculous amounts to meet academy demands, off shore work not as lucrative as once upon a time so people doing more stints away from their family, police working with less support from colleagues etc As retirement age goes up and demands become more than inevitably we end up with more economically inactive.

Not the link that you have but read in the telegraph

They're either unemployed if they're making no money, or should be paying tax as self-employed if they are.

Agree with this, worked (and still working) in NHS for past 20 years

Well, I dropped out of the employment market during the pandemic, as I chose to take early retirement. I claim no benefits, and am not - yet - in receipt of my state pension.

I'd wager there are many people like me.

So not entirely sure that you draw the conclusion that this has caused us to be in recession!

"Dropped out of the jobs market" is different to unemployment though isn't it? We probably shouldn't be surprised that only 3 or 4 years after a global pandemic there are large numbers of people who are now not fit enough to work due to Long Covid, increased waits for operations, or simply having dropped out of the job market due to early retirement precipitated by the changes that Covid brought.

Everyone is at breaking point and it seems unfixable. But it's the working people who get no support and help from the govt.....nothing.....not a penny!!!Where if you dont contribute to society you get everything you need free (so it seems)

Am not sure either....trying to make sense of it

Well, start by reading the ONS's actual report ...

"Economically inactive" is not the same as unemployed.

Unemployed is not the same as on benefits either.

An awful lot of economically inactive people (so people who do not have a job) are either early retired, long term ill (covid or post covid or on nhs waiting lists), or stay at home parents.

You might have noticed there is a lot of private healthcare ads about now that run along the lines of "by going private I was able to get back to work quicker".

Most economically inactive people do not want a job and are not looking for one.

Economic inactivity rate is 21.9%.

Unemployed is different, here the person does not have a job but wants one. There are technical differences in measurement depending on how you try to work out how many people are unemployed.

Current unemployment rate is 3.8%

Big difference.

Don't get me wrong, 3.8% is still high, but it's not 21%!

Will do

that makes sense. I understand it clearer now 👍

This is a good breakdown

Unemployment is low, we’ve had a tight labour market pushing up wages

Economic inactivity is high. State dependency is high

It seems that 9 million is a problem for productivity

Well I'm currently 'economically inactive'. And yet I'm an unofficial carer for my mother and I support an adult child who is also 'economically inactive' due to health issues beyond her control. I also volunteer for a charity and look after a small child on a regular basis. I claim no benefits, and not only do I save the government money with my roles, I spend money and help keep it flowing.
I'm in my mid 50s and my DH works full time. Really pisses me off to be deemed economically inactive. Our child also 'adds value' in a big way with some of her roles that I support her with. She is a contributer too, much more than being a drain on society.

There are some vacancies around here which remain unfilled because they insist on staff doing 12 hour shift. Several people I know would be willing and able to do the job, but can't due to the rigid shift patterns. And yet these place reckon they are 'crying out' for staff (then treat them like rubbish because it's a minimum wage role)

If doctors and nurses and the like were properly paid, it would increase the flow of money going into society, but it seems the government like to hang on to their money at all costs and blame people who are at the bottom of the pile.

Gov money is just taxpayer money

If you want to do your last paragraph you need to get more from taxpayers

So you’ll need a way to increase taxes when they’re already high

Or get economic inactivity down

😂🤣 No you don’t get everything you need. You get barely enough to survive on and often die prematurely due to the chronic health conditions caused by living in housing unfit for human habitation, or malnutrition.

This is classic Tory nonsense though.

Do you really want to live in a society that doesn't support those who are less able/less better off?

It's interesting that The Telegraph, a bastion of the right, would choose to put this slant on the report. In which there is no mention of unemployment. (Or if there is, I missed it).

You might want to think beyond the headline about the specific agenda that the Telegraph is pursuing.

“"Economically inactive" is not the same as unemployed.

Unemployed is not the same as on benefits either.

An awful lot of economically inactive people (so people who do not have a job) are either early retired, long term ill (covid or post covid or on nhs waiting lists), or stay at home parents.”

To add on to this excellent point, all the students aged 16 and up are classed as economically inactive as the starting age is 16 for the measurement.

Well, I don't generally have a good opinion of this government but there are some obvious things to do to get the economic inactivity rate down.

Firstly, improve childcare. A lot of stay at home parents would like to work at least part time. The government are at least going in the right direction with the funded hours.

Secondly, sort out nhs waiting lists. There's a lot of ill people waiting for operations who can't work while they are ill. Some of them are going private and then getting back to work.

Thirdly, try to persuade businesses to be less inflexible. If your business can't recruit, clearly your job isn't very attractive. You can make it more attractive by offering flexible hours, term time only working, etc etc. more economically inactive people would take jobs, full and part time, if they were more flexible.

Economic inactivity rate is 21.9% - that very high.

Just need a non corrupt government that doesn't waste tax payers money on 'contract to friend' or economics inadequate

Or get money flowing better instead of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.