Stuck on benefits during a boom

By Jennifer Quinn
BBC News Online Magazine

Fewer people than ever are claiming unemployment benefit in prosperous Britain. What's it like for those still without work to be on the outside, looking in?

The UK is more prosperous than it's been for a generation, with fewer people on the dole than at any time since 1975.

Consumers are spending, their appetite for new possessions fuelled by the house price boom. For most people times are good.

And yet more than a million people are missing out on the economic party that's been under way in recent years.

The total number of people unemployed is about 1.4 million - close to 4%. Figures released this week show that of those about 876,300 are claiming unemployment benefit.

So what is it like to be unemployed in the midst of all this prosperity?

'Odd feeling'

The mine has closed but Mark Lockwood has his eyes cast way down the road. Literally.

Last Friday, Mr Lockwood was forced onto the dole for the first time in his life, following the closure of the Wistow Mine in Selby.

I'm determined to look at this enforced change in a positive way Mark Lockwood

He'll soon be retraining as an HGV driver and is trying to make the most of things.

"It's an odd feeling," says Mr Lockwood, who is 39, has a six-year-old daughter and will get £54 a week in benefits, but no help with his mortgage. "I'm determined to look at this enforced change in a positive way. It's a fork in the road, and something better may come my way."

According to government statistics, 28.3 million people are now working, up nearly 200,000 since the beginning of the year. The most recent trend estimate, says the Office of National Statistics, is that the unemployment rate will continue to fall.

Earnings

It's a success trumpeted by the government - and a fact used by the Labour Party in the run up to next month's European elections. Their campaign slogan begins "Britain is working."

My friends thought I was quite relaxed about it, but in myself I was thinking 'why can't I get a job?' Tracy, IT worker

"There are 1.95 million more people in work than seven years ago," Prime Minster Tony Blair said. "That means one more person in work every two minutes since this government has been in power."

And the country is prosperous, with average earnings up 5.2%since the beginning of the year, the fastest pace of growth since June 2001.

When Tracy, an IT project manager from London, was out of a job for six months last year, she found there was a stigma attached to being unemployed. The old adage that it was easier to find a job when you already had one was true.

"I think I was having some resistance from people I was calling for jobs," she says, noting that her self-esteem also took a beating.

"Most of my friends thought I was quite relaxed about it, but in myself I was thinking 'why can't I get a job?' It was very frustrating."

Her comfortable lifestyle also went through some changes.

"Instead of going out for coffee, I would sit and have one at home, and I would take water out with me rather than buying it in a shop," she says. "You have to watch everything."

Who are they?

The question of just who makes up Britain's 1.4 million unemployed sounds as though it should be easy to answer. But in reality, it seems, the only characteristic they all share is that they are jobless.

"There are a set of characteristics that define the unemployed person," says Paul Gregg, a professor of economics at the University of Bristol. "However, a person that had all of those things would represent almost none of the unemployed.

The government is keen to push its message of prosperity

"Low skills, young, lone mothers, no qualifications... you'd rapidly end up with nobody because there's too many overlapping characteristics."

Mr Gregg says risk factors which make someone more likely to be jobless include issues like poor qualifications and lack of skills, disability, age and being from an ethnic minority.

He says about 33% of the unemployed are under 25, although they make up just 19% of the population as a whole.

The jobless are also predominantly male. More than half of them are between the ages of 25 and 49-years-old. Almost half of them have no GCSEs at grades A to C, or the equivalent. And about 45% of them live in households with children.

'On the scrap heap'

Robert Nutt is an older worker who's concerned about his re-entry into the job market. Like Mr Lockwood, he was made redundant from Wistow Mine.

You feel a bit of an outcast, a bit of an outsider. I do feel apprehensive, but I'm sure there's work out there. Robert Nutt

He is 55-years-old and is more concerned about the future than his former colleague.

"You get that feeling, not of being thrown on the scrap heap, but of will you be able to find work again?" Mr Nutt says. "I'm a bit apprehensive. I had worked there for 25 years and working at the same place you become a bit institutionalised."

Mr Nutt will have his pension, but it won't be enough. He needs to find a part-time job to bring his income back up to about £300 a week, and hopes to fall back on training as a painter and decorator.

"You feel a bit of an outcast, a bit of an outsider," he says.

Mr Nutt is confident he will find work, as he is determined, but says: "It's always on the back of your mind."

Mr Lockwood says the mood among the other miners who have been laid-off is a mixed one.

"It's a strange feeling for everyone - it affects us in slightly different ways. Other people, perhaps those who are older than me, are thinking about taking their pensions early, or getting part time work."

"Before this happened to me I did not really know what to make of unemployed people," Mr Lockwood adds.

"I did not know if there were people who would not work, or people who wanted to get a job as quickly as possible."

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Are you unemployed? Add your comments on this story, using the form below.

As a senior IT professional with over fifteen years experience, I was made redundant early last year for the second time in eighteen months. It hit me very hard and I felt as though I had lost my self-esteem almost overnight. The worst part was hearing how buoyant the economy and job market were, and how no one else I knew was in the same situation as I was. No matter how hard I tried I could not get a job for love or money. I couldn't buy a job so ended up begging the MD of a local company to let me work part-time in his IT department for free so that I could keep my IT skills up to date while looking for a paid job. I was out of work for eleven months before the MD gave me a three-month contract, paying me about 35% of what I was earning two years ago. The struggle still goes on trying to find a better paid job in IT, but it's hopeless ¿ you see, I'm in my mid-forties and have a disability.
Steve, Scotland

It's not just mining - I work in IT and have been laid off four times in the last six years - this is an industry constantly looking to make cutbacks, yet nobody seems to acknowledge this, not least the government!
Jeff, Leeds

After moving from Belgium to the UK it took me 18 months to find a job in line with my qualifications (MSc and languages and excellent experience). Most of those 18 months is soul destroying. I don't wish anybody to go through it.
Karl D, England

The number of unemployed is actually inaccurate. Long term unemployed people are put on courses to take them off the list. It is the same tactic used with waiting lists. Patients are not on the official waiting list, but a list to show they are waiting to go on the waiting list. This way figures are guaranteed to be lower.
Mack, UK

I work for Jobcentre Plus and I am not in the least bit surprised that there are fewer unemployed than ever. This government has made it so tough to claim benefit and stay on it that it is preferable to be in work. The whole system is focused on getting people back to work, even the sick and disabled. Whilst I advocate what the government are doing, surely we should be trying to support those caring for others and those who are sick, not pressuring them back to work.
Helen, England

I was made redundant in 2002. Being unemployed was horrible. It took me a year to find a new job. During that time I was highly sceptical of the job figures, and I still am. I wouldn't say I fitted your description of an unemployed person - I am female, in my thirties, I have very high skills - I a scientist with a PhD. Because I work in a specialised area, there just simply weren't the jobs for me even to apply for most of the time. I was knocked back for jobs where I had little or no experience, or had too many qualifications. I would definitely like to know where the government figures are coming from.
Sara D, UK

Is Britain really working? I am fed up with all these stories with the main slant being that Britain is so prosperous and we "have never had it so good". Unemployment may be low but what about the thousands of low-paid workers who don't show up on these feel good figures? I live in London and earn a not too terribly low wage but I will never be able to afford a house, a luxury car, a luxury holiday or any of the other bounty enjoyed by the rich. The housing boom may on one hand be creating wealth for some, but is also making others poorer, thus widening the gap between the rich and poor.
Dan, London

Yes, I'm unemployed, having been made redundant nearly three years ago. I had a well-paid job in advertising, in a big London agency. My problem in still not finding work is that I seem to be too experienced, and too well qualified. At 43, there's still plenty of life in the old dog yet, but it seems employers would rather have two graduates for the same money they would pay me. As for qualifications, I have a degree, I passed the MENSA test, I have bags of talent. None of it seems to make any difference. I apply to two or three jobs a week, but most of them don't even bother to reply. I've tried looking at retraining in a new area, but I can't afford the fees; I've looked into setting up something on my own, but I need capital; it's extremely frustrating, as I know I'd be a great asset to any company. Looking for work is a full-time job in itself. In fact, I'd say I actually work harder than when I had a job; there's the constant nightmare of dealing with different benefits, countless forms, currently my housing benefit has been stopped due to an error by someone at my New Deal office - and then there's the actual job searching: even the best internet job boards for my industry require a paid subscription in order to be able to use them! It's a constant battle to stay just above absolute poverty. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
Rob, UK

One does not have to be unemployed to feel as if one is on another planet in a prosperous country. As a widow on what seems to be a reasonable income, my car is old, I cannot afford new clothes, holidays or house improvements & I don't know where son's university fees next year will come from. Any costs of services I require like plumbing, seem extortionate as I am paying someone per hour far more than I earn myself.
Jane Pearce, UK

After I finished my commercial pilot training, I was unemployed for a period of six months before finding work. It was a horrible feeling to have to go to the job centre to "sign on" and to see that there were people who blatantly had no intention of finding work whatsoever. Some people were there just to play the system.
Lloyd Bentley, UK

I will soon be transferred from incapacity benefit to unemployment benefit after over a year of illness. Whilst I have 10 GCSEs, 3 A-levels and a law degree, there is an apprehension on the part of employers to employ someone who has been out of work long term. My own apprehension because of this and the fear of rejection together with financial difficulties do make you feel like there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel. The basic benefit package is just 8% of average national income. Believe me when I say that there isn't a single one of the 1.4m people out of work who want to be.
M Wilks, UK

The only people claiming benefits should be those who are unemployable through disability. Everyone else should be made to work if there are jobs of some kind available. There are plenty of jobs around, but many people are too selective about the type of work they want to do.
Dave Coulson, England

The IT collapse caused my job loss in 2002. Like Tracy, I tightened my belt while everyone else appeared to be spending like crazy. I didn't go on benefits, but stacked shelves once a week instead. You get a new prospective on what's important after a fall like that. It's almost a new spirituality. It's like a death in the family. After 9 months I found work in Germany, where I [retrained] and have come back to work in London. The experience has made me very cautious with debt.
David Tozer, England

The government only ever says that there are 1 million out of work and claiming. Have you ever tried claiming benefit ? It's impossible if you have a fiver in the bank or haven't paid two years class one NI. The latter includes people who have worked for themselves and have in one form or another paid NI.
Martin, UK

I do sympathise immensely with people who are unemployed as I sometimes feel unemployed myself as I quit my job to build my own business. With hours being long and money tight, it certainly does impact your social skills and self esteem. I think the loss of identity stemming from being actually "unemployed" would be far worse. The only advice I can give is to think positively and view this part of your life as an opportunity for a fresh start! Best of luck!
Mark, UK

I was unemployed for a short period when I was 19, and I didn't like it. I remember vividly walking into the job centre and saying "I've come to sign off", it gives me a warm feeling just to think about it, I never ever want to have to go into one of those places again. To make it worse, the staff seemed to treat you as some kind of lower life form.
John, UK