Human Resources
Sterling lifted by UK unemployment numbers
(TELEGRAPH) - Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits fell by 6,300 to 1.63 million last month. City economists had pencilled in a rise of 12,500. The pound was up almost a cent against the dollar at $1.6360 in late morning trading and also edged higher against the euro.
While sterling took some comfort from the monthly figures, the majority of experts expect unemployment to keep rising next year. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, admitted in the pre-Budget report that the the number of Britons without work will keep climbing in 2010.
Separate figures released today showed that 21,000 more people lost their jobs in the three months through to the end of October, pushing the total to 2.49 million, the highest level since 1995. Britain has now lost 600,000 jobs since the recession began, with youth unemployment now at 952,000.
Analysts at Capital Economics said that “while the improvement looks set to continue in the near-term, we fear that firms will engage in another round of cost-cutting early next year.”
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