Its probably more like 3 million at least but the figures have been manipulated down by record numbers on incapacity benefit and those on 'work schemes'...............
Jobless total 'to hit one million'
Edmund Conway, Daily Mail
3 January 2006UNEMPLOYMENT will hit one million this year for the first time since
2000, experts warned yesterday.The economy's failure to recover from its worst year in more than a decade will be the key cause, it was claimed.
But the slump in manufacturing will also be a factor, with figures showing that a million jobs have been lost in the sector since Labour came to power in 1997.
The prediction that the number out of work and on benefits will rise from 900,000 to over a million during 2006 came from the world's biggest bank, Citigroup.
Michael Saunders, its UK economist, said Britain has outperformed most of its neighbours since 1992. But his report, entitled The Fading Star, said the country will lose its status as Europe's best performer as the massive weight of government and household debts take their toll. The watershed figure of 1m jobless is of significant concern to economists.
Unemployment has been rising steadily for the past six months as hard-pressed companies lay off workers. Householders, now a record £1 trillion in debt, are abandoning the high street. Many fear that a jump in unemployment could be devastatingfor house prices and the wider economy.
Mr Saunders said: 'Rising unemployment and rising savings could prevent even the modest consumer pickup that we expect.'
The Bank of England will be forced to cut interest rates again and keep them low for 'a long period', he said. This may help to persuade shoppers and businesses to spend.
.....................and get more people into even more debt which will have to be paid for eventually, one way or another.