Latest unemployment figures – REC comment

Posted on: 19/01/12

The number of people out of work in the three month period up until last November rose 118,000 to 2.68 million, the Office for National Statistics has revealed today.

Commenting on the latest figures, Kevin Green, the REC’s Chief Executive, said:

“The UK jobs market is struggling to cope with austerity measures but will bounce back in the medium term. Whilst the public sector has lost 67, 000 jobs in the last quarter, the private sector has continued to create new jobs, although not in sufficient numbers at present to compensate.

“However, we are continuing to see encouraging signs in terms of employers’ future hiring intentions and sectors such as IT, engineering and office professionals are already showing strong demand. Across all sectors, recruitment agencies fill on average 40,000 permanent jobs each month which shows that opportunities do exist.

“Looking ahead, things will get worse before they get better but we expect unemployment figures to stabilise in the second part of the year.”

On the latest youth unemployment figures, Kevin Green says:

“The Government’s Youth Contract needs to make an impact as quickly as possible to avoid young people being isolated in unemployment. One area that has not been adequately addressed is the need for a modern careers guidance network that helps young people make informed choices and compete in a difficult jobs market.”