Jobless figure hits new high

by GD Thu 19 Nov 2009, 5:46 pm

Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur

THE number of Islanders registered as unemployed is likely to pass the 1,000 mark by Christmas – a figure that has been exceeded only once since the early 1990s.
The latest figures released today reveal that 997 people sought help from Social Security to find a job in October. However, that number is likely to increase significantly over the coming weeks as the impact of recently announced redundancies is felt.
Jersey Telecom has signalled that it intends to lay off 80 staff, while Jersey Water is letting 20 employees go. And Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur said that he could offer no guarantees that things were going to get better in the short term.
‘I do not have a crystal ball,’ he said. ‘I am not going to give false optimism because we always said that we were in a period of economic decline and that it would hit Jersey later than it has hit other places. This level of unemployment, particularly at this time of the year, was not unexpected. (from JEP)

Wait until January/February....