Sky News Business "Revival Time, But Can Job Market Spring Back?"

Our latest Sky News contribution is live on the Business Homepage as the Editors pick;

"Official figures confirmed this week that the UK jobless total is now over two million, the highest recorded figure since 1997. It's expected to reach three million by this time next year, exceeding the peaks of the early 1980s and 1990s recessions. Depressing isn't it - it all seems to have happened so fast.

As most private sector industries are shedding jobs, reducing working hours and implementing pay freezes, it can only be a matter of time before the public sector purse is squeezed too.

It will be interesting to see how the public sector workforce will react to pay freezes and even reduced working hours. No doubt the unions will be up in arms, and may even take the French approach and strike to show their dismay at the Government's handling of the economic downturn.

Interestingly the public sector has seen a rise in employment, with over 30,000 posts being filled last year. In the same period, according to the Office for National Statistics over 105,000 jobs were lost in the private sector.
Our annual council tax bill arrived this week. For once it hasn't risen too much but we still wonder where all that money goes when services seem to have been reduced already. Some bin collections have dropped from weekly to fortnightly, I can't remember the last time I saw a road sweeping truck, let alone a gritter, and the roads are covered in so many pot holes, they could probably fill the Albert Hall twice. Can't begin to imagine what kind of service we'll be getting as the public finances are reduced."

Read the full feature here