UK 'must try harder' on unemployment (From Business in Dorset)

UK 'must try harder' on unemployment

8:00am Tuesday 16th March 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

The UK needs to work harder at reducing the amount of people who are unemployed.

That is according to data from the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), which has found that UK unemployment stands at eight per cent.

Of the other 26 EU member states 13 have lower unemployment rates.

Dr John Philpott, the CIPD’s chief economic adviser, said: “The UK may draw comfort from having lower measured unemployment than the EU average but in truth we are no better than a mid-table performer in the EU jobless league. Taking ‘hidden joblessness’ into account makes the UK’s relative performance look less impressive still, and once again highlights the scale of the macroeconomic and employment policy challenge that awaits us in the next few years.”

Average unemployment in the EU (European Union) is 8.9 per cent with UK performance particularly poor in relation to male unemployment (9.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2009).

Only eight EU member states have higher male unemployment rates than the UK: Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia.

However, the situation is exactly the reverse in relation to female unemployment with only eight EU member states having lower female unemployment rates than the UK (6.7 per cent in Q3 2009).

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)