UK unemployment to touch 3.2 million by H2 2010
09 Mar 2009
Unemployment across the United Kingdom will affect over 10 per cent of the workforce, or 3.2 million, by the second half of next year, a business group has forecast. Currently, around 1.97 million people in the UK are unemployed, according to official data, which has released figure for the period between October and December.
The numbers are their highest since 1997.
The warning was issued by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which also added that the economy worsened "significantly" in 2009. It said the upcoming Budget was the government's "last real chance" to help lift the economy.
BCC director general David Frost said the government would have to reduce the "regulatory burden on business", scrap the planned increase in national insurance contributions, and freeze the national minimum wage if it intended to help firms of all sizes.
"It will be business that leads the UK out of recession," he said.
"For this reason it is vital that companies are given the freedom to create jobs and wealth."
The government has already announced a number of measures to help companies, including a plan to guarantee up to £20 billion of loans to small and medium-sized firms to help them fight the recession. Part-nationalisation of the Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, introduction of a scheme to guarantee bad debts in the banking sector are other initiatives which, it expects, will pump in more credit liquidity in the market for both firms and individuals.