So first I find a story in the Daily Mail that says the unemployment rate in Great Britain is actually six times higher than official government figures.
Nearly ten million people in Britain are out of work – more than six times the official unemployment rate – it was revealed last night.
The ‘hidden army’ of jobless accounts for a quarter of the working-age population.
Critics said the staggering numbers represented a ‘huge pool of wasted talent’ and fuelled concerns about the drain on the economy.
Ya think? 25% of the working population is a “huge pool of wasted talent”? And yet, how is it that 1 out of every four working-age Brit is able not to, well, work for a living?
They are not listed as unemployed but do not go to work because they are sick, looking after family or simply refuse to find a job.
While they are not claiming unemployment benefits, many rely on other handouts such as incapacity benefit.
The ‘economically inactive’ currently form 21.2 per cent of the working-age population – 124,000 more than a year ago and the second highest figure on record.
The highest figure was in May 1997 – the month that the Conservatives lost the General Election after a severe economic downturn – when 21.6 per cent were inactive.
Some 1.89million of the current total are students, 2.35million are carers for elderly relatives or stay-athome mothers, and 2.04million are on long-term sickness.
A further 198,000 are on temporary sickness leave, 619,000 have retired early and 35,000 are classed as ‘discouraged workers’, meaning they are not interested in finding work.
So that tax rate in the U.K. is supporting 25% of the working age population, as well as the uniform health care system, the BBC, and those Big Brother cameras all over the nation. Now let’s take a look at another interesting story out of Great Britain:
But men in their late-30s and early-40s are the least content of all of us, it seems.
Whether they are mourning the passing of their prime or struggling to cope with the demands of a job and young family, those aged 35-44 invariably hit a mid-life crisis when their happiness level plunges lower than at any other age, according to a study for the Government.
Let’s see… age 35-44… now what would that make them? That’s right. Working age men. Who can’t find work.
Most men rated their carefree teenage years between the age of 16-24 as one if their happiest periods, with an average score of 7.55 out of ten.
But halfway through their careers, satisfaction levels dipped to a low of 6.8, only rising again to nearly 7.8 once they had crested retirement age.
Granted, I’m making a huge cognitive leap here. But compared to what some bloggers do, hell, I’m practically writing a fact-based thesis on why unemployed men in Britain are unhappy.
And with that caveat, I find it interesting that British men get unhappier in their middle years, which would be about the time a man feels most useless if he hasn’t got a job. Meantime, women of that age are still caring for their children and starting to re-enter the workforce. As for unemployed kids, well, twentysomethings don’t care. It gives them more time to party.
Another factor of that depression statistic is that the older you get, the tougher it is to recover from tough times, physically and mentally. And if you lose a large chunk of your working life, it affects you financially for a long time, and takes a long time to recover.
So maybe the real reason British men are so unhappy is simply that they can’t find a decent job. But sure, U.K. You keep on importing more immigrants. No doubt they’re doing the jobs that Britons won’t do. Meantime, Brits are talking about emigrating (and doing it) in record numbers.
Time was when Brits would work on fixing their nation, not fleeing it.
Times change.
The unhappiness survey also touched on the problem of working men who have to pay for everyone else’s dole.
Also, check what “economically inactive” means in the Daily Mail article. Three-fourths of such people are stay-at-home mothers, caregivers to ill relatives, the long-term and short-term disabled, and students. I maintain that the mothers, the caregivers and the students are all maintaining and investing in human capital, and that the UK government statistics are pretty much correct.
chsw
“Most men rated their carefree teenage years between the age of 16-24 as one if their happiest periods, with an average score of 7.55 out of ten.”
You’re still considered a teenager in Britain at the age of 24?
Aren’t you, maybe, supposed to have some personal responsabilities by then, or something?
Nice catch. I missed that one. Gave me a good laugh, Roy.
“Meantime, Brits are talking about emigrating (and doing it) in record numbers.”
Absolutely. I work several months out of the year in the UK, and over the past 5 years, so many young Britons have been emigrating that now, I’d say at least 70% of the professionals I meet want out ASAP, never to return. Most folks I met in the pubs had a language book or tapes out to brush up on their Spanish or German, with plans to emigrate in a year or two to somewhere like Spain, Germany or some nice South American country.
Sad thing is, if anything the US/UK, New Zealand are even worse than this. The political correctness around here, crowding, gloom, overriding sense of failure is just stifling. What an utter disaster Britain has become.