Unemployment Back Up Again

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 16th Oct 2002

MP Vincent Cable warned today that five years or more of falling unemployment may have created a false sense of job security locally.

He was commenting on the latest figures showing a big rise in unemployment over the last year - an increase in Twickenham constituency of 215, Richmond of 280, Kingston of 349, Feltham of 455 and Brentford and Isleworth of 476.

Although official unemployment rates - in terms of claimants - are still very low (in August: Twickenham 1042 or 1.4% of the workforce; Richmond 1121, or 1.9%; Kingston, 1260 2.2%; Feltham 1553, 3.0%; Brentford 1516, 2.5%) they are now rising throughout SW London.

Vincent Cable said: "There is a clear change in the business and employment climate. I am meeting professionals from city accountancy and consultancy firms, company managers, people from telecoms, IT and internet businesses who are now out of work and are finding new jobs much more difficult to find."

"Many of them have big mortgages. I fear that if the World economy turns down even further we could be facing a serious economic problem. The government is not helping by its excessive red tape and more onerous and complicated taxation. There may be tough times ahead".