UK unemployment hits 3.6%, no clear end in sight

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Nov 2022 13:53

Newly published data by the Office of National Statistics reveals a jump in the unemployment rate in the UK to 3.6% as the country battles with a dwindling economy.

Mass strikes taking place all over the UK as the crushing economic crisis squeezes down on consumers.

Official data released by the Office on National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday revealed that the unemployment rate in the UK has risen from 3.5% in the end of September to 3.6%.

Earlier on November 3, The Bank of England announced a hike of interest rates to 3%, increasing from 2.25% - the biggest increase since 1989, as it warned of a "very challenging" outlook for the economy.

Forecasts from the bank predict that the UK will be enduring 40-year-high inflation, reaching 11% during the incumbent quarter. However, Britain has already entered a recession that may last up to 2 years - even longer than what it endured during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Mass strikes have been taking place all over the UK due to the increasing inflation rates, as residents fight to balance payments between paying skyrocketing energy bills and basic groceries.

The director of labor and economic statistics at the ONS, Darren Morgan, stated that "August and September saw well over half a million working days lost to strikes, the highest two-month total in more than a decade, with the vast majority coming from the transport and communications sectors."

"With real earnings continuing to fall, it's not surprising that employers we survey are telling us most disputes are about pay," added Darren.

Grocery list staggering

A report published earlier by Kantar Worldpanel revealed that the cost of grocery shopping for UK residents has hit a staggering £682 rise per year compared to the same period last year, marking a new record of food inflation at 14.7 percent during October.

The UK government will direct a new hit to consumers and businesses on Thursday as Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to reveal new taxes in the budget.

Hunt commented on the newly released unemployment rate, saying, "Tackling inflation is my absolute priority and that guides the difficult decisions on tax and spending we will make on Thursday."

"Restoring stability and getting debt falling is our only option to reduce inflation and limit interest rate rises," he added.

It's noteworthy that the UK economy witnessed in 2020 an 11% drop, the biggest since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began keeping records, and the UK’s largest GDP slump since 1709, the year of the ‘Great Frost,’ when the country’s economy shrank by 13.4%, according to historical data provided by the Bank of England last August.