New Year Outlook Bleak for the Unemployed

A TUC survey has shown that almost a quarter of a million people across the UK will be spending their second or even third Christmas on the dole this year.  Northern Ireland has seen the sharpest rise in long-term unemployment in the last year with a 3.2% increase on last year.  This means that more than 14,000 people in Northern Ireland have been out of work for at least a year.

These figures are particularly worrying given the level of competition for the limited amount of jobs available.  In addition cuts in public spending and inevitable redundancies as a result paint a bleak picture for 2011 particularly as the peak for unemployment in Northern Ireland is not expected to arrive until some time after GB as Northern Ireland will be slower to emerge from recession.

These figures reflect the current economic times and also enquiries to local CAB offices who are experiencing high levels of demand as a result of the recession.  Figures from CAB show that in the eight months from April to November this year enquiries on benefits and tax credits have increased by 1.5% on the previous year to over 109,000 issues.  Figures on employment issues have also increased over 12% on the previous year to over 13,000 issues.