U.K. unemployment drops to 2.61m as Britons prefer self-employment

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The latest figures reveal a surprise drop in the unemployed Britons, as the U.K. keeps on struggling under the government’s coalition cuts.

The number of people officially unemployed fell by 51,000 to 2.61 million between February and April. The government claims that the credit goes to the growing economy, but many people attribute the fall to the fact more people are choosing to go for self-employment.

Self-employment has touched a record figure of 4.17 million, up by 84,000 since the previous quarter. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of self-employed people has hit the highest level since 1992 as “desperate” Britons take on work as cleaners, nannies and taxi drivers to avoid unemployment. Also, a high number of people choose to work part-time in Britain as they are unable to find full-time jobs due to the flat-lining economy. This statistic rose by 25,000 in the three months to April, to reach 1.41million.

Labour market policy adviser at employment group the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Gerwyn Davies has said: “A rise in self-employment may, in itself, be a good thing, however previous analysis from the CIPD found that the recent rise was less a sign of a resurgent enterprise culture, and more evidence of a growing army of part-time ‘odd jobbers’ desperate to avoid unemployment.”

There is also an increase in the number of professional workers, such as accountants or office administrators, becoming self-employed and working for companies on contracts rather than as full time staff members.

Besides all these facts, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits last month rose by 8,100 compared to April, to a total of 1.6m.

Other figures from the ONS have showed that the number of people unemployed for more than a year increased by 30,000 to 886,000. And the people unemployed for more than two years rose by 29,000 to 434,000.

The employment minister, Chris Grayling comment on the new ONS unemployment figures: “Any fall in unemployment is very welcome but I remain cautious over the next few months given the continuing economic challenges we face.”

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