Number claiming benefit drops but more complain they can't get full-time work. Long-term unemployment sees further rise
The number of part-time workers in the United Kingdom has hit a record high as more people are forced to take shorter hours or not work at all.
Official data released today showed the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell last month, but more people complained they could not get full-time work and there was a further rise in long-term unemployment and among 16-to-17-year-olds.
At 7.82 million, the part-time employment level was the highest since records began in 1992, and represented more than a quarter of the workforce.
But in a fillip for the coalition government, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures also showed a fall in the claimant count of 20,800 last month, better than the 20,000 predicted. At the same time, the unemployment rate on the wider ILO (International Labour Organisation) measure slipped back to 7.8% for the three months to May to 2.47 million, below forecasts for it to stick at 7.9%.
