According to the Office of National Statistics, The Household population of people of working age 16+ and was at 1.846 million people in the UK in January 2013. When you consider the recent recessions started in 2007 and the number of people working full time is lower by some 341,000 people, the question we need to ask is how bad are things for us to continue moaning about recession? The truth is we have plenty to moan about if we really wanted to.
Even the people who are in work are now working more part time jobs than ever before with an increase of 660,000 people now in part-time employment. The total increase in the number of unemployed people has risen by more than 850,000 and we are experiencing a lack of opportunity unseen for a generation.
The Government Approach to Cost Cutting
The Government has been under fire for removing many civil servants from their positions to cut our expenditure, but they have not just targeted local authority employees. The actual number of people aged between 16 and 64, who were not in work or available for work has also dropped by 75,000. This drop is mainly due to the government’s hard line on sickness and unemployment benefits. When you consider we have been in two recessions since 2007 and could possibly be heading for a third in 2013, the statistics are far from pretty and it would appear we have little to be happy about.
Not All Doom and Gloom
The fact is that we needed to shake off excess baggage in our government spending because we were not getting value for money from the government departments and this may have been a hard pill to swallow at the time, but we are in slightly better shape because of the ruthless moves. The last six months of 2012 showed increases of more than 110.000 for people in full time work and there was a reduction in people working part-time by 23,000. They may not be massive figures, but a sure step in the right direction. Unemployment fell by 37,000 and those claiming benefits in the 16 to 64 age bracket fell by 13,000. Another year or two with the same results and we will have a vibrant economy again and with much lower public spending.
Handling Further Decline
The problem we face at the moment is that many people who have been out of work for a long time, which happened because of the recent recessions, have difficulty paying mortgages, maintaining family structure and continuing in a stable environment needed for a return to employment without distraction. In short, the fabric of our society is under threat because of the economic problems faced by many and the only thing that will halt the decline is a significant investment by the government.
Dealing with Credit
The government has been listening to plans for another round of quantitative easing from the Bank of England and this should kick start the economy. This means lenders will be able to provide finance for new business ventures, people will be able to accept jobs further afield because they can borrow to travel until they receive their wages and money can begin to flow more freely once again. Although there have been some opinions that a reduction in debt for UK households is required to provide more confidence, it is widely agreed that borrowing needs to take place to stimulate growth. The UK has one of the most active high street banking industries in the world and our sub-prime lending market is rife with options for people who need to borrow to start businesses or begin new jobs.
William Bancs is a blogger who ensures that he keeps up-to-date with the state of the UK economy. He suggests that if you need a financial boost to get you through the tough times, it might be worth you researching QuickQuid loans to give you that little extra support.
