THE Tories have taken the job market from bad to worse, the TUC charged today as alarming new figures revealed that Britain’s unemployment rate has risen to its highest rate in more than two years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported today that unemployment has risen for the fourth month in a row.
There are now 1.51 million people unemployed in Britain, the highest number its been since September 2021.
The figures showed that a record 2.83 million are out of work due to long-term sickness, with many stuck on waiting lists and struggling to access the healthcare they need.
The number of vacancies has also dropped for the 23rd time in a row, falling by 12,000 in the three months to May.
The cooling down of the job market was further confirmed by HM Revenue & Customs, which reported a decrease of 3,000 workers on payrolls, bringing the total to 30.3 million in May.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “These damning figures show the Conservatives have taken the jobs market from bad to worse.
“Unemployment is rising. Vacancies are falling. Insecure work is at epidemic levels. Record numbers are long-term sick. And wages are still worth less than in 2008.
“The Tories have failed working people. We need a government that will rebuild industry, create wage growth, and deliver a better living for working families.”
The ONS reported that regular earnings growth remained unchanged at 6 per cent.
But the TUC highlighted that if wages had grown at the pre-financial crisis rate, the average worker would be earning £14,700 more a year.
Nye Cominetti, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank, underlined that kick-starting jobs growth will be a key task for the next government.
He said: “Worryingly, the UK employment is closer to its mid-pandemic lows, than its pre-pandemic highs.
“But while the jobs market weakens, pay packets remain resilient.
“This recent spurt of real wage growth, the strongest in an almost a decade, will be a relief to workers and a worry for the Bank of England. But it can’t be sustained unless productivity picks up.”
Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the stats confirm the Tories “have no hiding place after 14 years of abject failure.”
