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True jobless figure ‘could be double’ O’Grady tells Congress that almost 5m people are out of work
Unemployment figures 'mask' real total

Almost 5 million people are out of work in Britain — double the official figure, the TUC warned yesterday on the first day of Congress.

It said that the narrow official definition hides the true picture.

People are only counted as unemployed if they have looked for work in the last four weeks, are able to start a job in the next two weeks, or have been offered work but have not yet started.

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