UK – A Campaign for a Public Inquiry into the Economic Crisis – International Business Times

Long before calling for public inquiries was made fashionable by the Labour party, one group of angry, politically cognisant members of the public decided that enough was enough with politicians, bankers, and the economy.

The Campaign for an Independent Inquiry into the Economic Crisis in the UK, as it is not-so-pithily named, has struggled to gain traction in the 18 months since it started, but that has not assuaged its supporters’ passion or quenched their burning rage.

“Obviously [the financial crisis] was a catastrophe. It was a train crash. Utterly predictable, I have to say, and a number of people were predicting it, but nobody in parliament wanted to rock the boat,” Richard Vass, the campaign’s spokesman, told International Business Times UK.

“Vince Cable mentioned a couple of things and that all of a sudden escalated him into being a bit of a guru rather than the idiot that I think he is…

via Meet the Campaign for a Public Inquiry into the UK Economic Crisis – International Business Times.

Economy tracker: Unemployment – Understanding unemployment:

A person is classed as unemployed if they are not only out of work, but also actively looking for work and available to start work within a fortnight

Unemployment figures are based on a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics. They show the average number of people unemployed over a three-month period

A new survey is done every month, but comparisons are made between separate three-month periods, not overlapping ones. e.g. April-June v Jan-March, not April-June v March-May

The ONS also publishes the claimant count which shows the number of people receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in a particular month. That figure comes from information supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions

The unemployment figure is higher than the claimant count as many jobseekers do not or cannot claim JSA

The two main measures can sometimes move in different directions. A change in benefits rules moving people onto JSA from another benefit, for example, would increase the claimant count without a corresponding increase in unemployment.

via BBC News – Economy tracker: Unemployment.