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UK's Euro isolation to blame for pushing up London jobless
February 14, 2002 12:00 AM
Unemployment figures released this week show that the number of jobless Londoners is growing rapidly and the capital's Liberal Democrat MEP, Baroness Sarah Ludford, is pointing an accusing finger at Britain's continued exclusion from the Euro.
Unemployment in London rose 28,000 in the three months of October to December 2001, which are the latest available figures, to stand at a jobless total of 271,000, or 7.2% of the workforce. Nationally, the number rose by 34,000 to 1.55 million. These figures are the Government's preferred ILO system of counting jobless numbers.
The MEP commented:
"Since the launch of the Euro, currency volatility has been blamed for 3,700 job losses in London.
"With over £10 billion worth of goods exported every year from London to EU countries other than Britain and nearly 400,000 London jobs dependent upon these exports, the value of the pound against the Euro is hugely important to our city.
"The longer we stay out of the Euro the longer we will continue to suffer from a fluctuating exchange rate, while rival businesses on the European mainland, which now use the same currency, have no such worries.
"And if people think that Continental economies suffer from high unemployment, they should look to the Netherlands where unemployment stands at around 2%."
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