Photograph by Helen Cobain
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows little change for the people of Britain with unemployment remaining essentially flat at 7.7%, and inflation of 2.7% outpacing the slow rise in average wages.
Unemployment in Britain never rose to the dangerous levels found in Spain during the financial crisis, but they are still a long way from the five percent or less we saw before 2008. Those claiming Jobseekers allowance fell by 41,700 to 1.35 million over the last quarter, a fall of just 3%, with just under a million of young people without work.
Whilst the numbers for unemployment are travelling in the right direction, albeit very slowly, living standards continue to decline with inflation remaining at 2.7%, increasing much more rapidly than the meagre 0.7% average wage increase. Labour leader Ed Miliband described this ongoing trend as “a cost-of-living crisis in this country”, with living standards falling for 39 of the 40 months since David Cameron was elected.