UK unemployment to hit 17 year high

A new report casting doubts over the UK's government's claims on the capacity of the private sector to absorb the 330,000 jobs expected to be lost in the public sector by 2015, points to record unemployment amidst economic growth.

According to the report by The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, unemployment in the UK is expected to touch a 17-year high of 2.7 million by next year, even as the economy expands but the growth may fall short of preventing total joblessness from rising, crerating fears of a ''jobless recovery''.

For the employed, the report warns, wage increases would run far below the inflation level. While a wage rise of around 2 per cent is expected to be the norm, price rises of around double that level are expected for much of the year.

According to The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, which represents the UK's human resources managers, it is clear that job losses in central and local government and their agencies would be higher than those envisaged by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent body now tasked with producing economic forecasts for the Treasury.

According to the CIPD, the pace of private-sector job creation would also be slower than the government forecast. It says public-sector employment would fall by 120,000 in 2011 but so would private-sector employment decline by 80,000.

The CIPD says the private-sector jobs created would be a far cry form the traditional ideal of a secure, well-paid position with benefits such as a pension linked to salary and generous paid holidays.