Think tank predicts rising jobless levels

Think tank, the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), has warned that “unemployment will reach new highs for this economic downturn.”

Its gloomy assessment comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to November.

The ONS said unemployment grew by 49,000 in the three month period to 2.498 million.
The latest figures means the unemployment rate is unchanged from last month at 7.9%.

Unemployment is expected to rise further as the Coalition Government’s tough austerity measures will see more than 300,000 public sector staff lose their jobs over the next four years.

According to the IPPR, while an economic double-dip is unlikely, an employment double-dip is “a real prospect”.

The Government’s tough austerity measures, designed to bring down the budget deficit, are expected to severely hamper economic growth and Tony Dolphin of the IPPR believes the UK economy needs to grow at an annual rate of more than 2% if unemployment is to fall.

The IPPR explains that the private sector needs to see strong job creation in order to offset the large scale job losses within the public sector.

Most leading business groups are predicting that UK unemployment could peak at a 17-year high of 2.7 million this year.

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