The Independent

This article in the Independent recounts figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which shows that a record number of people are in work –  the biggest quarterly fall in unemployment for more than 10 years. Apparently, the jobless total fell by 82,000 in the three months to October to 2.51 million, down by 128,000 on a year ago. Alongside this, employment jumped by 40,000 to 29.6 million, the highest figure since records began in 1971 and up by half a million on a year ago. Some are attributing the figures to a shift in employment from the public sector (where there has been a slump in the jobs market) to private firms.

However, and rather depressingly, 449,000 people have been out of work for more than two years, up by 6,000, while 904,000 have been jobless for more than a year, unchanged from the previous quarter. In addition to this being viewed as good news,  the figures themselves don’t  tell us anything about quality of life or account for non-monetarised costs and benefits such as the quality of the jobs were are talking about (e.g. work-life balance, promotion opportunities, debt). In the context of rural England, it is interesting not only to reflect on how people are living on declining incomes as  public sector spending reductions lead to job losses and reductions which cannot easily be shifted to the private sector; and where many people have 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet.

Not that this is an issue which is unique to the UK. I spoke to the OECD standing Committee on rural issues last week in Paris. Under employment arising from what is now being internationallly characterised as “The Crisis” (the economic collapse in 2008 and its aftermath) is perceived by them as the main challenge to sustainability across the world.