If you took the Oldham Echo as your sole source of information, you would be forgiven for thinking that Liverpool has somehow escaped the worst effects of the double-dip recession & the ConDem cuts (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/our-view/2012/01/16/liverpool-this-is-the-place-to-be-100252-30128938/).
In fact, you might well see the city as an untouched oasis of economic prosperity while most of the UK suffers under a government which blithely displays its warped sense of priorities (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/15/queen-royal-yacht-diamond-jubilee-gove ).
Today's unemployment figures would both sharply disabuse you of such illusions & starkly emphasise the fact that Merseyside isn't immune (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/17/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-economics ).
Amelia Gentleman highlighted the situation on a Kirkdale estate a few days back for the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/15/below-breadline-liverpool-workless-estates ):
"The high numbers of workless households on this estate help explain startling figures produced by the GMB last week revealing that nearly one in three households in Liverpool have no one in work. It is the legacy of historic industrial decline in this area, suddenly worsened by the recent round of public sector redundancies and a new, downturn-related disappearance of retail and manufacturing jobs."
With the rate of youth unemployment nationally standing at 22%, an all-time high, the rate for Merseyside will be significantly higher. The lost generation is well & truly with us & will remain bereft of opportunities, openings & hope.
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