UK has highest jobless in Europe
11 Oct 2010
The UK has the highest number of people out of work than any other major European country, according to a new conservative think tank report.
Nearly one adult in eight British households is jobless – the highest among the six largest European economies, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) study has shown.
In the UK, 11.5 per cent has no adult in employment compared to 10.8 per cent in Spain, 10.5 per cent in France, 10.4 per cent in Italy, 9.2 per cent in Germany and 6 per cent in the Netherlands.
Leading economist Dr Peter Warburton argues in his report titled More Producers Needed: why tackling workless households can lead to growth that by reducing the proportion of workless households, the UK could a have significant impact on growth.
A 10-per cent drop in the number of workless households represents a potential 3 per cent increase in the number of working households. Even if these transitional households were initially only half as productive as existing working households, this would add around 1 per cent to GDP, said Dr Warburton.
Dr Warburton says in the report that the increasing indebtedness of the UK economy from the early 1990s-during the Margaret Thatcher era, created an illusion of prosperity and allowed an improvement in living standards beyond that consistent with sustainable growth.
