U.K. unemployment jumped in the third quarter as joblessness among young people climbed above 1 million for the first time since at least 1992.
Unemployment as measured by International Labour Organization standards rose by 129,000 to 2.62 million, the most since 1994, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The jobless rate climbed to a 15-year high of 8.3 percent. The number of unemployment-benefit claims rose 5,300 to 1.6 million in October. Economists had forecast an increase of 21,000, according to the median of 24 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
The figures heap pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to do more to boost an economy at risk of sliding back into recession as Europe’s escalating debt crisis convulses financial markets. The Bank of England cut its growth forecasts today, saying output is likely to remain flat until the middle of 2012.
Youth Unemployment
In the three months through September, unemployment among 16-24-year-olds increased by 67,000 to 1.02 million, the highest since comparable records began in 1992. The jobless rate in that category was a record 21.9 percent.
“Levels of youth unemployment have reached crisis point,” said Matthew Freeman, commercial manager of skills and young people at Working Links, an organization that delivers programs to help get people back to work. “With over a million young people out of work, we risk creating a lost generation of young Britons.”
The U.K. government will pay small companies a 1,500-pound ($2,370) incentive to take on apprentices, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced today. Employment Minister Chris Grayling said the unemployment figures reflect the damage being inflicted by the euro-region crisis and pledged “additional measures” to support growth and create jobs later this month.
