Gordon Brown has pledged to create 100,000 jobs in the public sector in an attempt to offset rising unemployment caused by the economic downturn.
05 January 2009
Gordon Brown has pledged to create 100,000 jobs in the public sector in an attempt to offset rising unemployment caused by the economic downturn.
The prime minister said he would bring forward £10 billion of spending planned for public works such as school repairs, new rail links and environmental projects to provide employment.
The “anti-recession” plans have been compared to the US’s New Deal response to the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Brown also announced that the government will hold a “jobs summit” next Monday to discuss ways to boost employment with business leaders and unions. The prime minister has already embarked on a regional tour of the country to visit the areas worst affected by the economic downturn.
The CIPD has warned that job losses could total 600,000 this year, with 2009 forecast to be the “worst year for jobs in two decades”.
The British Chambers of Commerce expects unemployment to peak in the third quarter of 2010 at around three million, fuelling concern that the recession is likely to be longer and tougher than originally expected.