Jobs hope despite worsening unemployment

During the three months to August, there were 2.63 million employee jobs in manufacturing industries, down 223,000 on a year earlier. Across the wider economy, the employment rate and the number of people in employment both fell while the number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and the claimant count all increased. The number of people in employment was 28.95 million, down 45,000 from the three months to May 2009 and down 467,000 on a year earlier. The unemployment rate was 7.9%, up 0.3 percentage points from the three months to May 2009 and up 2.1 percentage points from a year earlier. The number of unemployed people was 2.47 million, up 88,000 from the three months to May 2009 and up 677,000 from a year earlier. Commenting on the statistics, Ian Brinkley, associate director at The WorkFoundation, said: "These figures are highly encouraging – the worst looks as if it might be over. If sustained, the labour market will turn around much faster than in previous recessions. "Much could still go wrong – the government must hold its nerve and not make premature cuts in the public sector before the private sector is back on its feet."