Emma Lunn, Wednesday July 16, 2008
The UK has seen its biggest monthly jump in unemployment benefit claims in more than 15 years, according to figures released today. The construction and financial services industries have already been hit - will your sector be next? And how can you cope if the worst happens? Find out
Consumer confidence has slumped to a record low, with millions fearing that the UK economy is
set to plunge dramatically over the coming six months - and fresh misery arrived with new
unemployment figures. The Office for National Statistics has today revealed that the number of
unemployed has hit 1.62 million and the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased
by 15,500 to 840,100 in June - the biggest monthly rise since December 1992.
The construction industry has been especially hard hit and this week Barratt became the
latest firm to announce job cuts. The housebuilder, which employs 6,700 staff, said it was cutting
1,200 jobs by closing two divisions and merging other parts of its business.
The construction industry has been hit by a sharp drop in the number of available mortgages
for consumers and the wider housing downturn.
Figures from Barratt show how the housing slump has affected new-build properties in
particular - total sales completions fell by 13.8% in the year to June, compared with 2007. Average
sales rates to private buyers have fallen by 43% year-on-year in the past six months while
cancellation rates for its homes have soared by a third over the past year.
Other building companies including Redrow, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes have also
slashed their workforce in the past few months.
Find a better
savings account
Gloom hits the City
The financial services industry is also facing a rocky period, as falling stock markets lead
to a wave of cuts in jobs and bonuses. Some reports say that the jobs market in the City has “
collapsed” by up to 20% as growth in temporary staffing overtakes permanent employment.
And the situation looks set to worsen still further. A report by the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI) and accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says the impact of the credit crunch on
financial services firms has worsened in recent months. It predicts that 10,000 City jobs will be
lost in the next three months.
