Eight million Britons ‘are short of work’, research shows

AS MANY as eight million people have been short of work this year, including the jobless, under-employed and economically inactive, new research has revealed.

Leading economist Dr John Philpott said the work shortage rate was 23.2 per cent, three times higher than headline unemployment.

The total includes more than 2.5 million unemployed, three million under-employed and 2.3m economically inactive.

Dr Philpott, director of the Jobs Economist, said: “A proper temperature check shows the UK workforce is still shivering with as many as eight million people either fully or partly short of work, despite the welcome job creation of the past two years, and millions more feeling a real pay squeeze.”