With 2.5 million unemployed are you suggesting the majority of the 2.5

Comment on General Election 2010 Poll Results by David.

With 2.5 million unemployed are you suggesting the majority of the 2.5 million unemployed could get a job if the lazy ones wanted to work and the welfare system was harsher so taking a low paid job is better than living on benefits?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5384516.stm It’s from 2006, but makes interesting reading especially as we know entrance to the UK is now harder.

It certainly dispels the myth that immigrant workers claim benefits and take council houses. Out of ~6000 claims from migrant workers for JSA/Income Support only 700 were deemed eligible. That’s for a 2 year period with up to a potential 400,000+ (600,000+ if self employed workers who don’t register are included in estimates) registered migrant workers: note it’s unlikely all those who registered to work here actually came to Britain, but if we assume 300,000 did work here only 700 claimed JSA/Income Support out of 300K.

That proves the vast majority of migrant workers pay their way while they live here. You might not agree with so many migrant workers taking jobs in Briton (I also have an issue with it), but the idea they are sponging off the system is total BS, they contribute to the economy.

It also says the vast majority of migrant workers are being paid close to the minimum wage. Why are British born workers not taking these jobs? I agree with the premise it would be better if British born workers took more of these jobs as 2.5 million claiming JSA is bad for the economy.

I’ll accept some unemployed people are lazy and not looking for work, I also accept some unemployed people won’t take a low paid job because it’s no better than claiming benefits. As a side note it was even worse under the Conservatives and I’m talking from personal experience. When I was studying to go to University, but wasn’t actually a student in the eyes of the Conservative government and had to claim unemployment benefit to survive. I was studying full time while claiming (was a mature student, no facility for me to be a student doing A-Levels and OU courses with a young family). Took a job for a 6 week period for the experience (working in a hospital lab, looked good on my CV and University application). Despite working full time for those 6 weeks, we were worse off (around £10 worse of a week if I recall correctly) than on benefits! So if it wasn’t for the experience I couldn’t have taken such a low paid job (there was no minimum wage back then). Today minimum wage and tax credits would make working that job worthwhile relative to JSA/Income Support.

Anyway, what I won’t accept is the premise the majority of the 2.5 million unemployed fall into those two categories (lazy and not able to take low paid work). I believe the vast majority are looking for work, but for whatever reason not finding it.

Take a read of

“About 70 per cent of claimants were still leaving JSA within six months.”

Even now 70% of the unemployed find work within 6 months during a recession.

Look at the long term unemployed graph:

People who have been unemployed for more than 12 months has doubled, but it’s ~650,000 out of 2.5 million, so even if you assume they are all layabouts who don’t want work, we have over 1.8 million who are wanting to work and will probably find work in the next 12 months (70% in 6 months).

And there’s this:
“In January only about 4 per cent of JSA claimants under 25 were unemployed for more than 12 months, but for the over-50s the figure was 21 per cent.”

The perception of the long term unemployed being young layabouts is wrong. 96% of the long term unemployed are over 25 years of age with the over 50s having real problems as you might expect (will need retraining, employers less likely to hire).

The truth is pretty much the opposite of what you are suggesting Sarah, the majority of unemployed people are actively seeking work and over 70% will find work within 6 months of becoming unemployed.

When those people find work they’ll be replaced by more unemployed people, with the numbers unemployed likely to go up in the short term (estimates of unemployment peaking at 2.9 million) and down in the long term.

Of course there will be some who take advantage of the system, but it’s clear from the numbers it’s the minority not the majority and parliament legislates for the majority.

David