The job market in the UK seems to be showing signs of healing. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits, known as the Jobseeker’s Allowance, declined by 21,200 in June, the eighth straight straight drop. And the May decline in claimants was revised sharply higher to 16,200. (It was originally reported at 8,600.)
In fact, the number of people receiving unemployment claims fell the 1.48 million in June, the first time it’s been below 1.5 million in nearly three years. This is likely welcome news for the embattled coalition government, led by conservative David Cameron, whose party suffered a drubbing in recent local elections. The Cameron coalition is due to face a general election test in May 2015.
Up until now, critics could point to the fact that unemployment—which surged during the financial crisis—has remained remarkably high during Cameron’s watch. Now, at least Cameron can say things seem to be moving in the right direction now. But there is still an awful lot of ground to be gained before 2015.
