We canna have people thinking the unemployment figures are poor though

Yep - we should celebrate - it's great that none of our children have any parents at home.

Also good to see all those old people having to work till they drop.

Well done.

Well that's true

But at the same time there 1000s on the streets that aren't included in any figure

There's people who are basically doing whatever to make ends meet and they aren't included in the figures either

And then there's the sanction regime, which is also not included in any figure

But yes like you say, no family, no parents, no happiness so lets celebrate it

theory goes that due to Brexit,slow growth,investment etc,etc, that firms rather than introducing new machinery,robots etc,etc are sitting on their money and employing more people instead,but when they do eventually have to start investing to sort out so called low/no productivity, on machinery,robotics etc millions of these new jobs will go and go quickly
don't shoot the messenger theory doing the rounds amongst the economists

If they can automate parcel delivery and pizza delivery, self-driving vehicles etc - the one million new jobs the Govt keep claiming they have created won't look so clever. Maybe all the trainee barista's will be safe.

Also good to see all those old people having to work till they drop.

Only for those who spent their working days in the private sector. Public sector workers have their index-linked pensions to tide them over.

I'd have though the Labour government might have levelled the playing field there during their 13 years in power.

But no, it's still a case of looking after the public sector workers at the expense of those in the private sector.

Nothing changes with that whoever is in power.

Anyone under the age of 50 will never see a pension though

They've robbed people of that little nest egg

Think in the last 20 years both political parties have done their best to level the playing field (in a race to the bottom).

Private sector pension schemes now non existent and/or billions in deficit - Public sector, nothing like the terms they used to be.

If you are newly joining either sector today - it's fair to say you are unlikely to be retiring comfortably on the work based scheme.

Pension Credit comes in two parts:

Guarantee Credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level:
£163 if you’re single
or £248.80 if you’re a couple.


Paid at 66 years of age.

Where's the work 'till they drop come in except for those with savings or on a PS pension?

That's wrong; cross off or on a PS pension?

You leave university with just the average 45k debt at 6% interest - if you are very lucky you get a job paying 25k

I know there are thresholds - but you pay tax, national insurance, your student loan, rent (buying is out of the question), gas, electric, water, council tax, phone/broadband, food, you may need a car/fuel.

How much of the 30 bob you have left are you thinking about paying in to your pension?

uk population 66,847,325

( estimated to be 74 million by 2050 in the story about water shortages in the uk)

men currently employed 17,320,000
women currently employed 15,400,000

unemployed 1,340,000
men and women inactive 8,550,000...18-65 not seeking employment
nor on benefits

so about 25 million school age and pensioners?, although i think
the in work figures include penioners and school kids in employment

it wont be  a pension problem but a housing expectation problem amongst younger people, there,s millions of pension couple living quite happily on around a 1000 a month but of course these will own their own property, but to suggest to young people today they should live on 800 to a 1000 a month ,they,d look at you as though you were mad, even though the thinking behind the very best pensions were based on 2 3rds of your wage that's now gone out of the window due to permanent renters and higher expectations

Both problems have the same root cause - short term thinking and the inability to pass up making a quick buck - let somebody else pick up the pieces/pay the price. No matter that it might be your children and their children.

Successive Govts participating in party politics have completely failed to plan for or invest in the future - now wondering where it all went wrong.

1.3M unemployed, but 6M of working age on housing benefit and 3M on working tax credits. The government basically running a shockingly bad value job subsidy scheme.

Large numbers of people have been forced out of the system....the figures do not show these

It's not a job subsidy - as your figure evidence they mostly have a job (possibly several) - it's a pay subsidy scheme.

It'the price we pay for governments that can only create jobs that don't pay enough to live on. Not something they like to mention when championing the 1 million new jobs they have created.

A bit like John Major's government...he told doctors to sign as may people on invalidity benefit as they could to

hide the unemployment figures.

Trouble is a lot did not want to come off...he created a terrible problem with that idea John Major.


That won't happen now though.

UBLE/REGY    19 Mar 19 14:52 
Large numbers of people have been forced out of the system....the figures do not show these

This group fast approaching 9 million!

UBLE/REGY    19 Mar 19 14:55 
A bit like John Major's government...he told doctors to sign as may people on invalidity benefit as they could to hide the unemployment figures.

I think this started under the Goddess that preceded him. In all fairness some of those miners that got charged by police on horseback probably did end up with a bad back.

Was also the start of the University "arms race" - no tuition fees back then, what do you do, be unemployed or go to university?
Net result is 1000's with a worthless degree wondering why they are working in a call centre but it kept them off the figures for 3 years. And it's good to see that since we fecked all those pesky miners we have stopped using fossil fuels... Oh, Hang on.

Same old cycle. See difficult problem, come up with snappy soundbite, place can on ground, kick it very hard, enjoy another term in power, blame new govt. etc, etc.

I can't help but laugh at current level of passion/anger (on all sides) as current Govt does the formulaic can-kicking on Brexit.

Grown men 50+ years old giving themselves a coronary over it - but have lived through and calmly accepted the same can-kicking for past 40 years on pensions, housing, transport, energy, etc.

Too many people.

Go back to 1997 and the state of the country then compared with now. It's enough to make you cry.

cry if its another 8 million more by 2050

what plans have these tories got for taking back control?

Yesterday employment figures were fantastic, everyone in work

Today its bad news, inflation is up massively because of an increase in food and wine

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47636056

So one day the job figures are great, wages are up, but the next its taken out the other hand through inflation. Do they rely on people not bothering reading their junk?

Bare in mind inflation was at its lowest in 2 years only 2 months ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46889433 Dated 16th January 2019

Oh dear god

They make it up as they go along bless em

One month its all good, the next its bad news all round

Basically the jist of their news is

Everyone is in work but haven't a pot to pi** in

i suspect nothing is as it seems,governments want to try to normalise things (interest rates,pay down debt,  ect) but dont know how to do it,once they find a way to do it by stuffing the relative poor at the expense of the rich they will do it.

If you look at the numbers behind the headline I think the gist of it is this:

Many people that hoped/planned to retire at 60 or even 65 have had to change their plans and stay in work
Many people that had already retired have had to change their plans and go back to work
Many couples that planned for one of them to bring up their children have had to change their plans and are both still working

Maybe Walter the Softy and all his chums have been barking up the wrong tree - but I don't suppose there's as much mileage or populist support in campaigning to deport everyone over 60 and all the working mums.

How do you go from inflation decreases to lowest in 2 years to increasing and bringing about the end of days in 7 weeks?

1.8 to 1.9 is cause for massive concern?

Yet yesterday everyone was in work? shouldn't that counter inflation? everyone is working and paying tax right? buying more from the shops, which they reported on last month - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47250753 - ?

Come back tomorrow when the BBC/SKY will have the packaged up answer to it

Which will contradict the story from today by the way

They do make it up as they go along the thick bas****s

Inflation figures are the same as employment figures - if the numbers don't favour your argument/ideology just change the measure. Use RPI where it suits, CPI if it suits better, change the basket of measures if you like. All smoke and mirrors.

Everyone I talk to that is still of working age - has had their wages frozen for the last 10 years and their fixed costs (the things they HAVE to spend their money on) have all sky-rocketed in price.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47637378

Totally taking the pi** now aren't they

Yeap inflations gone up but your all cheerful about it