UK unemployment down

Date: 16th June 2011

UK unemployment is down thanks to the actions of businesses operating in the private sector.

That is according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) after official figures showed that UK unemployment fell to 2.43 million in the last three months.

Neil Carberry, CBI director for employment, said: "It is good news that unemployment figures have fallen, with the private sector creating jobs.

"We hope this will continue in the coming months, but we still have a serious problem with long-term unemployment and inactivity. We need to tackle the structural causes of unemployment to get the UK working."

The latest labour report from the Office for National Statistics also showed that total pay (including bonuses) increased by 1.8 per cent compared to last year,
While regular pay (excluding bonuses) saw a two per cent rise.

Meanwhile, one industry expert has claimed that small businesses operating in various UK industries have a lot to look forward to.

Alex Wright, manager of the Fidelity UK Opportunities fund, said the outlook for smaller firms is "particularly" positive.

Posted by Jacob Williams