UK unemployment rate climbs to four-year high of 5%

Another gloomy statistic on a gloomy day; the UK's unemployment rate has risen to 5%, its highest in four years.That's roughly 1.7 million people now looking for work. At the same time, nearly 1.7 million people are claiming unemployment benefits.

Poverty is rising too, with millions living below the poverty line, many, despite having jobs.

• UK unemployment at 5%; highest in four years
  

  UK unemployment at 5%; highest in four years

  UK unemployment has risen to five percent in the three months through September.

Those critical of the UK's neoliberal economic model say this isn't just a temporary blip.

Britain is the sixth biggest economy in the world, and yet we've got 15 million people living in poverty.

No need for that.

That is a political choice, and that is something, I think, that the public really needs to rail against and demand that their politicians create a situation where we have a good society.

There's no excuse for anybody in this country to be living in poverty or to be struggling.

Chris Williamson, Former MP

• Brexit causes ‘severe’ drop in jobs for Britons in EU
  

  Brexit causes ‘severe’ drop in jobs for Britons in EU, says travel industry

  UK withdrawal from the EU has caused a “severe” slump in the number of seasonal jobs for young Britons in the EU member countries.

None of that is happening in isolation; a combination of Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and, the government's fiscal policy, have all played a role.

Businesses say rising taxes and costs are forcing them to freeze hiring or let staff go.

Big problem with the current situation in Britain is budget uncertainty.

We may get tax rises on this, we may not get tax rises on that, and nobody really knows until the budget comes out.

And of course, what you're going to do as an employer, you're going to be cautious and stop employing people until you know what the landscape is.

Professor Keith Pilbeam, Economist

• EU steel tariff plan sparks UK crisis
  

  EU steel tariff plan sparks UK crisis

  The EU is pushing to double tariffs on steel imports to 50% while slashing the duty free quota nearly in half, purportedly, to protect EU producers from global oversupply.

In reaction to the rise in unemployment, some experts predict the UK central bank, the Bank of England, will cut its interest rate in December.

Not everyone agrees that's the right thing to do.

There is a big problem with interest rate cuts in the UK; it is that inflation is still well above the target of 3% maximum, it is 3.8%, so cutting interest rates is probably not a good idea, because the Bank of England really needs to do its job, which it hasn't done for a number of years.

Since 2022, we've been above the 3% practically every month, you know, at 10% and things like that.

So to be honest, cutting interest rates without inflation under control is not a good idea.

Professor Keith Pilbeam, Economist

• UK inflation rises to 30-year high amid cost of living crisis
  

  UK inflation rises to 30-year high amid cost of living crisis

  UK inflation has hit nearly 30-year high of 5.5%, new data shows, as cost of living squeeze tightens in the country.

And while all that is happening, the world is watching, with business confidence in the UK economy at record lows, and experts hoping warming relations with the EU might help improve this situation.

It looks like a tough year ahead for millions of Britons, with unemployment on the rise, poverty deepening and confidence in the economy faltering, all eyes are now on that upcoming budget.

Whether it offers any relief or deepens the pain will define not only the year ahead, but also the future course of the UK's fragile economy.

• Briton's turn to pet food amid the cost of living and energy crises
  

  Briton's turn to pet food amid the cost of living and energy crises

  Can the British government, headed by the multimillionaire Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and his austerity budget even come close to fixing the UK economic crisis, which has resulted in many eating pet food?

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