14.02.12
Hidden unemployment means ‘true’ figure is 6.3m
Official unemployment figures hide the millions of people not actively seeking work or those who are ‘underemployed’, the TUC suggests. Currently an adult is defined as ‘unemployed’ only if they are out of work and actively seeking a new post within the past month.
The TUC, the umbrella body for the UK trade union movement, claims that the true figure is nearer to 6.3 million, rather than the official 2.68 million, if other measures of joblessness are included in the analysis.
Including the number of people who are unemployed and wanting work but have not actively sought a new post for six weeks would add 2.2 million to the total and the number of people in part-time work because they cannot find full-time work increases the figure by 1.3 million.
The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “Our jobs crisis is not confined to those out of work. Nearly two million people are being forced to take low-paid, insecure, short hours jobs because of the lack of proper full-time employment. This means people are taking home much less pay, which is putting a real strain on family budgets.
“When ministers say there are plenty of jobs out there, they are ignoring the sheer numbers of people looking for work, as well as the suitability and location of the jobs available.”
However, there are about 463,000 vacancies available in the economy at the moment.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “It is important that people are taking those first steps into employment through part-time work or jobs in different sectors as it provides vital experience and skills that employers will look for when the economy and labour market improve.”
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