
The Government Says Unemployment Is 4.9%, What Would You Say If I Told You It Was 17% And Climbing?
The government tells you unemployment is 4.9%. Ministers repeat it. Headlines carry it. And most people accept it.
But that number is not the full picture. Not even close.
With a little administrative wizardry — careful choices about what to count and what to quietly leave out — the real scale of Britain’s labour market crisis has been hidden in plain sight. The true number of working age adults who are not working and not required to seek work is closer to 6 million. That is not 4.9%. That is 17.5%. And it is still climbing.
I am not saying they are lying. I am saying they are choosing what to count very carefully indeed.
