Low-paid occupations 'worst hit by unemployment'

Low-paid occupations have seen the largest rise in unemployment over the past year, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said.

In its Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) Claims by Occupation report, the TUC found that the ILO unemployment rate for workers in elementary occupations rose by 3.6 percentage points from July 2008 to July 2009, reaching 12.7%. For those in professional occupations, the increase was just 1.2 percentage points over the same period, to reach 2.3%.

The report also says that the retail industry experienced the largest increase in people claiming JSA during the period, with an extra 76,230 retail workers signing on. Goods handling and storage workers (47,420) were next worse affected, followed by general office assistants (46,330), van drivers (26,855) and labourers in building and woodcraft sectors (17,880).

In total, the number of claimants increased by 700,065 over the 12-month period.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "These figures explode the myth that this is some kind of classless - or even middle-class - recession. It's the low-skilled and the low-paid who are bearing the brunt of this recession. And they are certainly not seeing any recovery.

"And with unemployment set to increase throughout the whole of next year, and possibly beyond, tackling joblessness must be Government's number-one priority."

IMAGE: Lewis Whyld/PA Archive