UK unemployment passes two million
19-03-2009
Unemployment in Britain has risen above two million for the first time since 1997, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics said that during the three months to January, the number of people unemployed totalled 2.03 million, up by 165,000. For February, the number of people getting jobseeker's allowance added a record 138,400 to reach 1.39 million. Analysts say the job market is only going to get weaker as credit-starved companies lay off workers as they struggle to stay afloat in the worst global downturn in decades. "Going forward we expect unemployment to rise well in excess of three million through next year," said Amit Kara, UK economist at UBS. Banks have fired thousands of employees since the credit crunch bit, while the pre-Christmas collapse of retailer Woolworths resulted in 27,000 people losing their jobs.
