UK unemployment at 8.4% is 16 year high

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1/18/12, "U.K. Jobless Rate Rises to 16-Year High of 8.4%," Bloomberg

"U.K. unemployment rose to the highest rate in 16 years in the quarter through November, deepening concerns Britain is heading for another recession as turmoil in the euro area damps the global economic outlook.

The unemployment rate based on International Labour Organization methods rose to 8.4 percent, the highest since January 1996, from 8.1 percent in the three months through August, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose for a 10th month to 1.6 million, the most since January 2010.

Ernst & Young LLP’s ITEM Club said on Jan. 16 that Britain has slipped back into a recession and Europe’s inability to end the debt crisis has had a “debilitating effect” on the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is counting on hiring at private companies as his government axes hundreds of thousands of public-sector jobs to tackle the budget deficit. Firms from banks to retailers are cutting jobs as the outlook deteriorates."...

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