Warning bells should sound in Westminster

Commenting on today’s unemployment figures, showing a rise to 2.64m between August and October, UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:“This is a seriously bleak midwinter, as 128,000 more workers join the millions already on the dole queues. “Every month, as unemployment rises, and figures hit a 17 year high, the Government continues to ignore the human cost and push ahead with its hard and fast cuts – clinging to the hope that a struggling private sector can pick up the pieces. “These figures deliver a cold hard dose of reality. Private sector employment has increased by only 5,000, while the public sector has been hit with 67,000 job cuts – a huge gulf that the Government will fail to fill. As Thomas Cook looks likely to shed more than 600 jobs and la Senza become the latest retailer to face a restructuring, it is obvious that the worst is yet to come.“It is shameful to see that yet again, women, who make up the majority of low paid public sector workers, are the hardest hit by job losses. The 54,000 increase in youth unemployment shows that young people are also bearing the brunt, creating a lost generation that the Government will struggle to curb.“Unemployment hit similar highs before – when the Tories were in power. Warning bells should be sounding in Westminster this Christmas. We need urgent action to kick start the economy and prevent a new year unemployment record.”