Turning Tide?

In the period September to November 2009 the UK unemployment figure fell by 7,000, the first fall in nearly 18 months. Some are heralding this as a sign that tide has turned and that the real economy is recovering, but how much should we read into the statistics?

Since the summer of 2008 when the recession started, each quarter has shown a rise in the number of unemployed, so this latest figure alone has to be taken as a positive sign, particularly since it is accompanied by drops in the employment rate, in the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance, and in the number of 16-24 year olds out of work.

However, these statistics do not take into account the 21% of British residents who declared themselves neither unemployed nor looking for work, and that undeniably distorts the picture. Further, almost all of the statistics represented very small positive changes.

A much larger, and telling, figure was that the number of people doing part-time work increased by nearly 100,000. This means they don''t appear on the unemployment figures, but it doesn''t mean they have enough to live off, if anything, it''s a short term fix. We also must consider that the September to November period is gearing up for Christmas when many companies take on short-term staff which they may not keep.

Additionally, the figures may not necessarily be good news if it means that people are choosing to accept lower pay and shorter hours in return for keeping their jobs.

Experts suggest that for the recovery to continue, the wider economy would need to recover, meaning that companies need to take on more staff and at present that looks unlikely. One encouraging sign, however, is that the number of advertised vacancies rose by 16,000 compared with the previous quarter.

Possible comfort can be found in the number of advertised vacancies, as that has risen, but it also demonstrates the major problem for the unemployed. The figure of advertised vacancies is not particularly low it''s simply that for each vacancy there is more competition for a job. Simply put, whilst there may be a number of marketing jobs, for example, out there, at the moment there could be ten times as many people applying for each one than before.

There is no easy fix to the problem of unemployment, and no key for getting back into work quickly. Taking part-time work can help ends meet and demonstrate to potential employers that you are keen to work, but the only other solution is to keep searching. Keep an eye on everything from the Guardian jobs section to the Job Centre, and from small ads to search engines, and keep applying, there really is no other way of getting back into work, however disheartening it might be to deal with such stiff competition.

Article Source: http://www.casinoarticlessite.com

Audry Jolie was looking for jobs and found the Guardian Jobs website, he now recommends it highly.

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