Unemployment Figures

[Matheous-2]

Can anyone verify the highest figures in the era of PM Thatcher?

[LazyGun]

Some interesting economic graphs of the Thatcher years here, Matheous, including unemployment figures. I seem to remember the highest number was during 83-85, where it was around 3.2 million at its highest.

Not sure that you can necessarily do a direct comparison with todays figures though, because of all the categories where you are not officially classed as unemployed,although in receipt of welfare, but in some form of training, or work experience or whatever..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22070491

[Matheous-2]

Thank you for that! - Just settled an argument!.....

[factor-fiction]

Unemployment figures can be very misleading. Often the unemployment annd employment figures appear contradictory- I have seen news reports saying "unemployment goes up but record numbers of people employed". There are all sorts of factors such as changes in definitions, changes in size of population of working age, changes to retirement ages, split of part time and full time work, changes to benefit categories and whether 'housewives /pensioners/ house husbands declare themselves as 'unemployed'.

[Matheous-2]

Thanks FOF.....I don't have a great interest in politics, but the person in question had stated that we "never had 3million unemployed" which was simply what I wanted to verify.

[factor-fiction]

Some might argue that in the 1970s we used to have about 5 million 'unemployed' - but many of these were also being paid in some of the nationalised industries

[LazyGun]

I would like to seem some links to articles making that case F/F.

Sounds like political ideology speaking to me...

[ToraToraTora]

FF is correct, there where millions doing unncessary jobs in nationalised industires because the pro union laws of the day made it virtually impossible to fire anyone, even for misconduct (remember the Leyland Night shift fiasco?). The Unemployment figures went up after the laws where changed because they where not real jobs anyway. Still that hasn't stopped the left bleating on about it ever since.

[Peter Pedant]

FF is 'correct'

I recollect gradz just out of uni with a good -ology degree
saying : ' The NHS exists to employ people '


In the late seventies - my brother blundered into a cupboard in the NHS loking for something like bed linen for a patient and woke up six night cleaners - sleeping ! and was told in no uncertain terms that if he made trouble - they would call the ancillary staff of the Hospital out on a lightning strike.

Its... thirty y ago and I dont expect many people to believe that

[ToraToraTora]

Pretty standard stuff PP, the union dogma knew no bounds because they had absolute power. I PMSL laughing when I hear anyone under 40 slagging off MrsT and the 80s. They have no idea, all they know was spoon fed to them by lefty teachers who hated the fact that their flawed ideology was being torn down.