The sad news of unemployment in Britain reaching its highest for 16 years shows that women are being hit the hardest. Of the 48,000 increase, 32,000 were women losing their jobs.
This is considered a direct result of the cuts to the public sector, as it is a high employer of women due to opportunities of working flexible or part-time hours.
Interestingly, there seems to be a shift in Britain to part-time working. Figures showed a rise of 70,000 people in part-time work which is masking the fall of numbers in full-time work.
Has the current recession changed the landscape of British working patterns? As an employer in the private sector, I cannot magic jobs out of thin air. Jobs cannot be created unless goods or services are being sold. If people do not have disposable income then it is difficult for a business to grow. For a private business, cutting full-time employment to part-time employment saves on wages, PAYE, benefits etc…. Is this what is happening in England?
The Prime Minister believed that the private sector would grow as the public sector reduced. This has not happened. Both have shrunk and without policy changes to employment, the private sector will never be able to fill those boots and Britain will become jobless.
Bunty
The Chatterjis Blog 