This chart explains why you have not been made redundant
October 26, 2012
Given that the UK has been in recession since 2008, why isn’t UK unemployment – currently at 2.5 million – closer to 3.5 million, like back in the recession of the 1990s?
It’s a question lots of economists have pondered.
The answer seems to be wage restraint. The above chart from the Office of National Statistics shows real household income per head in the UK today compared with the last recession. As you can see, wages have been held in check.
Meanwhile, the chart below shows the UK rate of inflation; the cost of living has gone up.
Result? Less unemployment than expected. As this chart below of the UK quarterly unemployment rate demonstrates.
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