ONS Publishes Latest Statistics

The rise seen in unemployment seen across the three months to November is “unsurprising”, an insolvency expert at Irwin Mitchell has said.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the rate rose from 8.3 per cent to 8.4 per cent over the period analysed, which means that overall 2.69 million were out of work.

In addition, the number of young people looking for work rose to 1.043 million.

Andrew Walker, R3 chair for Yorkshire and partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The latest figures from the ONS show that the unemployment rate is 8.4 per cent of the economically active population, up 0.3 on the last quarter. This continued rise in unemployment is unsurprising and is likely to lead to increasing numbers of people struggling with their personal finances.

“Recent research by R3 found that 45% of people were struggling to payday and 60% are concerned about their current level of debt. With so many already having difficulties with their finances, sudden unemployment could lead to unavoidable personal insolvency.

“Furthermore, 27% of the population said they had no savings at all and 40% were saving less than usual. In these economic dark days we should see more people saving in order to be prepared for an unexpected change in circumstances. For those who have found themselves out of work and are concerned about their personal finances, it is vital that they seek advice early, to prevent getting into serious debt that could lead to insolvency.”