The number of unemployed people in the UK fell by 9,000 during the month of September according to the Office for National Statistics. However, the decrease was not enough to lower the overall unemployment rate which still stands at 7.7 percent. Employment remains constrained by businesses fearful for the longer-term outlook as well as spending cutbacks expected to sharply reduce the number of government workers.
“Part-time workers now account for 27.3% of total employment, which is up from 25.4% at mid-2008,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight. “This suggests that businesses are reluctant to take on full-time workers due to their concerns over the longer-term economic outlook.”
“Also significantly, job vacancies fell 27,000 in the three months to October,” Mr Archer said. “The biggest fall was in education, suggesting that the public sector cuts are already biting there.”
Source: BBC News
