Unemployment hits 17yr high

The UK unemployment rate is at its highest level since 1995, according to the latest figures. Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that for the three months to December 2011, 8.4 per cent of the economically active population was out of work.

This is the highest this figure has been since November 1995 and the total number of unemployed people is now 2.67 million, up 48,000 over the quarter.

Although 90,000 people took up new part-time positions over this period, the number in full-time work dropped by 26,000 and the number of self-employed workers fell by 10,000.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “People are being forced to take low-paid, insecure, short hours jobs because of the lack of proper full-time employment … which is putting a real strain of family budgets.”

A new survey by Netmums reveals that one in five mums are missing meals to save money.

© 2012 evolve wealth news team