+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Unemployment History and the future Researched

Unemployment History and the future Researched

Date post: 18-Nov-2014
Category:
Upload: johnfairest
View: 111 times
Download: 1 times
Share this document with a friend
Description:
Unemployment is a key factor of the future, How we support people and deal with the future can be the key to our economy
Popular Tags:
17
UNEMPLOYMENT WHAT IS UNEMPLOYMENT? Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment 1 Unemployment is an economic indicator that refers to the number or proportion of people in an economy who are willing and able to work, but are unable to get a job. A person in this situation is said to be unemployed. People who are not willing or able to work, for whatever reason, are "economically inactive" and do not count towards unemployment figures.
Transcript

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

1

UNEMPLOYMENT WHAT IS UNEMPLOYMENT?

Unemployment is an economic indicator that refers to the number or proportion of people in an economy who are willing and able to work, but are unable to get a job. A

person in this situation is said to be unemployed. People who are not willing or able to work, for whatever reason,

are "economically inactive" and do not count towards unemployment figures.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

2

Unemployment also carries significant social costs

People who are unable to find work must frequently rely on benefits for income social costs.

People who are unable to find work must frequently rely on benefits for income: if they have financial or family commitments, this can make life extremely difficult. Moreover, the sense of failure, boredom and rejection that being unemployed can generate has real social consequences. Studies have repeatedly linked unemployment to rising crime and suicide rates and the deterioration of health.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

3

Background

The history of unemployment in the UK is central to both the economic and social

history of the country.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

4

History of Unemployment

The 1950s and 1960s saw a very low rate of unemployment (around 3 per cent on average) as a result of the "postwar boom".

The economic orthodoxies of the boom years collapsed in the 1970s. The energy crises of 1973 and 1979 generated "stagflation", rising inflation and rising unemployment

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

5

History of Unemployment 70’s & 80’2

Unemployment topped one million for the first time in January 1972. During the 1979 "Winter of Discontent", when even gravediggers went on strike to protest against pay freezes, unemployment stood at 1.1 million, and the Conservatives swept to power on the message that "Labour isn't working".

However, during the early 1980s, unemployment rose further still - it topped three million in 1982. The January 1982 figure of 3,070,621 represented 12.5 per cent of the working population, and in some parts of the country it was even higher:

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

6

History of Unemployment Unemployment did fall through

most of the 1990s and fell below one million for the first time since 1975 in March 2001. The causes of this achievement are disputed. The Conservatives argued that the Labour government had been left a "golden economic legacy" by the outgoing Major administration, and that it had ridden an eight-year global boom, following Tory economic plans. Labour, by contrast, put the figures down to its successful economic management and reforms (particularly the independence given to the Bank of England), the extensive attention it paid to education and skills, and the impact of its New Deal programme for reducing joblessness. Source -Dept of Work &

Transport

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

7

Low Employment

Long period of economic growth

Disguised unemployment, many unemployed were allowed to take sickness and disability benefits. Therefore, they are not counted as unemployed. See also: What is True Level of Unemployment?

The Labour Force survey has consistently been higher than the government record of people on Job seekers allowance. This reflects the fact it is very difficult to get benefits these days. Some unemployed are not eligible for benefits for a variety of reasons.

Regional Recovery. Former depressed areas like South Wales and the North East have been relatively successful in finding new industries to replace the old heavy manufacturing.

New Deal & WBL . Better education and training for the unemployed to get back to work.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

8

Why Unemployment is set to Rise in UK

Contraction of Credit. Credit crunch has made banks reluctant to lend loans, mortgages and credit. The impact is a reduction in consumer spending, lower investment and lower economic growth. Big investment projects are being delayed until lending becomes easier.

Global Downturn. The global economy is slowing down, leading to lower exports and international trade.

Sectors. Certain sectors have been particularly badly hit by the financial crisis, estate agents, banks, construction industry. There will be increasingly a knock on effect to the rest of the economy.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

9

The True Level of Unemployment in UKOctober 30th, 2007

According to government statistics unemployment in the UK, is under 1 million.

The claimant count for Jobseeker’s Allowance was 835,800 in September 2007

This represents less than 3% of the workforce. This is pretty close to full employment; most economist argue that in a modern economy there will always be some frictional unemployment of perhaps 2-3%. This figure of 3% is calculated using the number of people eligible for Job Seekers Allowance JSA.

However, despite the attractive figures, there are many reasons to suggest that this is an under estimate of unemployment

The JSA excludes many groups of people from claiming unemployment benefit, even though they are actively seeking work. Examples include:

A husband or wife who’s partner is working and earning above a certain amount. i.e. JSA is means tested depending on a partner’s income. After 6 months it is also means tested depending on savings

People under 18 are not eligible – in theory they should be on training schemes

People over 55 are often excluded

Economic Inactivity. The definition of unemployment becomes

blurred in some areas. For example, in recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of people receiving sickness or disability benefits. These people used to be employed, but, for various reasons are no longer able to work. Rather than be classed as unemployed they have effectively left the labour force. In one sense they are not unemployed because they are not seeking work. However, on the other hand this economic inactivity is a type of unemployment. Under different circumstances they could be working. Often sickness benefits disguise the extent of unemployment in certain areas. For example, many former miners were given sickness benefits, rather than be classed as unemployed when the mines closed down.

This types of unemployment is often known as hidden unemployment

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

10

Graphic Employment Yesterday, Britain experienced

the quickest rise in unemployment since the last recession, 17 years ago. Statistics from the International Labour Organisation showed a rise in unemployment to 1.69 million (an increase of 164,000 in the 3 months to August). The Government's claimant count is 978,000. Over the coming months, unemployment is liable to rise to well over 2 million and could reach 3 million the rate of unemployment in the last 2 recessions.

Economics 2008 around time of Banking crisis

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

11

Reasons for Youth UnemploymentMay 19th, 2008

In the UK, people aged 16-18 are not eligible for unemployment benefits; instead they either have to be in full time education or on a government training scheme.

The reasons for youth unemployment are fairly similar to other causes of unemployment. They include:

Lack of Qualifications. Young people without any skills are much more likely to be unemployed. (structural unemployment) However, the service sector has increased in importance and this creates unskilled jobs such as bar work, supermarket checkout and waiters.

Geographical Unemployment. Youth unemployment is often focused in certain areas – usually inner cities where there is a cycle of low achievement and low expectations.

Black Economy? Official Unemployment may occur in areas where there is a thriving black economy. i.e. there are unofficial jobs for people to take. These jobs may be illegal such as dealing in soft drugs. However, it is hard to ascertain the extent of these unofficial jobs and it is easy to make sweeping generalisations about deprived areas.

Real Wage Unemployment. You could argue unemployment is caused by labour market rigidities and wages being above the equilibrium rate. However, in the UK, there is a special introductory rate for the minimum wage for 16-18 olds. It is significantly lower than the main minimum wage.

Frictional unemployment. School leavers may just take time to find the right work.

BBC Youth figures May 2010Youth unemployment has risen, with

941,000 16 to 24-year-olds out of work in the January to March period - a rise of 12,000 on the previous three months.

The latest figures also showed that the employment rate dropped to 72 per cent, the lowest in 14 years. The number of people employed fell by 103,000 while the number of part-time workers rose by 27,000.

The number of people classed as economically inactive rose 88,000 in the last quarter to a record total of 8.17 million. This total includes students, people looking after a sick relative or those who have given up looking for work.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

12

Youth unemployment21 April 2010

Unemployment in the UK rose by 43,000 to 2.5 million during the first quarter of 2010, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.

This brings the rate of unemployment to a staggering 8 per cent - its highest in almost a decade and a half. Youth unemployment makes up a significant portion of this figure, with 929,000 people between the ages of 16 and 24 now out of work.

Older workers are also finding it hard to secure employment. There are not 396,000 over-50s out of work, many of whom were casualties of the very first round of redundancies seen during the downturn.

But many analysts are positive about the figures, saying that they had predicted the picture would be much bleaker. Although unemployment has risen, it has risen less sharply than many had expected.

Amongst those in work, the picture is even better. Average weekly wages rose by 2.3 per cent during the first quarter when compared with the same period in the previous year.

Yorkshire and the East Midlands saw the biggest increase in unemployment, while London saw a significant drop.

13

The Geography of Unemployment

Unemployment across UK cities and regionsLooking at the local authority level, if we simply take absolute increases in thenumber of claimants from January 2008 to January 2009 across the UK, then thelabour market downturn is a story of the core cities. The largest increases in the totalnumber of people claiming unemployment benefit have been in the North’s largestcities – Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Hull, Glasgow and Birmingham.Birmingham has seen a rise of over 9000 claimants amongst the city’s residentpopulation from January 2008.

The percentage change in claimant counts presents a different geography. Whilst theabsolute figure captures the total increase in numbers of people claimingunemployment benefits, the relative figure is a percentage that varies according tothe levels of unemployment that existed before the recession. That means that thoseplaces with low levels of unemployment before the recession only need to have asmall number of people moving onto unemployment benefits to show a largepercentage increase. Concurrent with the recession of the 1990-1992, to date thehighest percentage increases in claimant counts have been concentrated in theSouth East and East Midlands. The absolute increase in the number of claimantcounts more generally across these regions has, however, been small. East Dorset,for example, has seen an increase of over 140% in the number of claimants, whilstthe increase in the number of people claiming benefits has been just over 400.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

14

UK unemployment regionally

FIGURES PRODUCE FOR THE UK

GRAPH FROM THE UK

CHANGES IN UNEMPLOYMENT TOTALS ACROSS THE UK

Yorks/Humber: Up 13,000 to 253,000 East Midlands: Up 13,000 to 180,000 North West: Up 11,000 to 290,000 East: Up 11,000 to 198,000 South East: Up 11,000 to 284,000 Wales: Up 10,000 to 131,000 Scotland: Up 6,000 to 208,000 South West: No change - 170,000 Northern Ireland: Down 1,000 to 53,000 North East: Down 3,000 to 120,000 West Midlands: Down 6,000 to 253,000 London: Down 22,000 to 363,000 Source: ONS

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

15

The Public SectorBy Brian Groom, Business and

Employment Editor Published: April 19 2010 The public sector is likely to shed

500,000 jobs during the next five years as the next government gets to grips with public spending to curb the £167bn ($255bn) budget deficit, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development warns on Monday .

John Philpott, the CIPD’s chief economic adviser, said a 10 per cent reduction in the 5.8m core public sector workforce was probable, “dwarfing anything implicit in the election manifestos”.

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

16

Benefit Changes

Britain's new government on Thursday promised a "radical reform" of public benefits such as unemployment and disability. This bid is a key part of the U.K.'s efforts to trim a worrisomely large budget deficit—and it depends, to a large extent, on its ability to rein in payments to families

Presented by John Fairest as a brief view of Unemployment

17

In ConclusionIt’s time to act

It is clear that new resources need to be made available

If you want to see a change and support to be available then make contact

This is only a Brief view on Unemployment History. Material provided from BBC,ONS,DWP &National Papers


Recommended