I was told in 1983 by Norman Tebbit to 'get on my bike' and get a job as over 3 million people
were out of work and the newspapers stated it was a scandal. The rise in unemployment was
particularly severe in the early 1980s, impacting industrial areas in Northern England, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland.
At that time there were 56.33 million people living in Britain.
.....................
Now.
With 66.35 million people living in the UK in 2025, the BBC follow the acts of many others and
tend to work in percentages, a way of using small numbers instead of large ones. However, a
quote from them shows a remarkable increase -yet without the shamefulness.
3 million = shocking for the country in 1983.
9.4 million = er... what? in 2025.
And the reason they calmly suggest for a country seemingly without major industries doesn't require its media
to scream panic was the Coronavirus.
were out of work and the newspapers stated it was a scandal. The rise in unemployment was
particularly severe in the early 1980s, impacting industrial areas in Northern England, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland.
At that time there were 56.33 million people living in Britain.
.....................
Now.
With 66.35 million people living in the UK in 2025, the BBC follow the acts of many others and
tend to work in percentages, a way of using small numbers instead of large ones. However, a
quote from them shows a remarkable increase -yet without the shamefulness.
Quote:'...According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 4.4% of people were unemployedBBC Verify:
in the period between October and December 2024, which is about 1.6 million people. While this figure
has risen over the past two years, unemployment remains relatively low by historical standards.
However, unemployed people represent only a small part of the nearly 11 million working-age people who don't
have a paid job. About 9.4 million of them are not called "unemployed". That is because they are not actively
looking for work, or available to start a job. Instead people in this group are called "economically inactive".
But 1.6 million of that group - in addition to the unemployed - do say they want a job.
The number of vacancies, external is currently just 0.8 million - that has been falling consistently for the past two
years, with a slight uptick in the latest figures.
Who isn't working - and why?
It varies according to age. ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures for October 2023 - September 2024 show
that most of the 2.8 million "inactive" under-25s were students. The majority of them did not want a job...'
3 million = shocking for the country in 1983.
9.4 million = er... what? in 2025.
And the reason they calmly suggest for a country seemingly without major industries doesn't require its media
to scream panic was the Coronavirus.

It's only an island if you look at it from the water.