UK Unemployment Reaches 2.5 Million

According to recent statistics, UK unemployment has become its own separate pandemic, with one in 5 people now said to be out of work.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the UK unemployment rate sat at 4.5% in the three months leading to August. However, another survey which questioned a further 6,000 people in September showed the rate to be as high as 7%. 

The survey, which was led by YouGov on behalf of think tank Resolution Foundation, hones in on age demographics, locations and genders, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the jobs crisis on certain parts of the population.

Young people and the BAME community

The survey uncovered that 1 in 5 people between the ages of 18-14 found themselves unemployed. This is an unemployment rate of close to 20%; the highest figure in more than 4 decades.  

The BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community is also suffering, with one in 5 BAME workers finding themselves unemployed during the pandemic.

A huge 40% of those that reported having lost their jobs over the past 6 months told of their 'insecure contracts’, most of which were employed by small, low-paying employers. A great proportion of these operated the hospitality and leisure industries. 

Kathleen Henehan, a senior research and policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said:

“The true nature of Britain’s jobs crisis is starting to reveal itself. Around one-in-five young people, and over one-in-five BAME workers, have fallen straight from furloughing into unemployment. 

“Worryingly, fewer than half of those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic have been able to find work since. This suggests that even if the public health crisis recedes in a few months’ time, Britain’s jobs crisis will be with us for far longer.”

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