Unemployment rate

Only 63.2% of working aged people are actually working. Let that sink in. That means that 36.8% of the people who could be working are not. This is slightly lower than the August 1978 figures. In round figures that's two out of 3 people working. So, how is it that we keep hearing how much better things are?

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As I see it, you and I are carrying another person. We are working for them. I'm not crazy about the idea. How about you? The fact is, there's no hope in my heart that this situation is likely to change because the recipient of our generosity can't find a job. Why is that, you ask? Because there are no jobs, there are no policies in place to create jobs and current employers are not expanding jobs. They can manipulate the unemployment figures by not counting those who have run out of benefits and those who have stopped looking. And they can report better numbers in a big headline and then adjust them later with little or no fanfare. Nothing changes the fact that 36.8% of us who should be working are not. Linda Duke

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