20/09/2010
The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that unemployment fell by 8,000 between May and July this year.
As reported by The BBC, there are now 2.47 million unemployed people in the UK.
"The big picture is that unemployment is higher than before the crisis but lower than many had feared a year ago," sad Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England.
The rate of unemployment dropped from 7.9% to 7.7% in England, and from 7.1% to 6.8% in Northern Ireland. However, the rate of unemployment grew by 0.1% to 8.4% in Wales. In Scotland, which has the highest rate of unemployment, it rose from 8.1% to 8.9%.
This is interesting news for business owners who will be pleased to learn that unemployment has reduced, but there are still plenty of people available for work. This is a good situation to be in: lower unemployment levels will boost consumer confidence, which means it's a great time to expand. Also, the people are there to recruit to make the expansion successful. All it takes is some time recruiting the right person, and a cash injection from sales finance, and businesses can expand quickly.
"While there were some positive development, particularly a big rise in employment and a fall in inactivity, the number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job has increased further," commented David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce.
Laura Nineham