The true unemployment

Figures released since the "tougher" assessment introduced for those wishing to claim disability benefit, for the period October 2008 to February 2009, reveal that 70% of those who proceeded as far as assessment were turned down, and had to settle for some other kind of benefit. In fact only about 5% were judged to be so unfit as to qualify for the full benefit of between £95 and £108 per week. The remainder were judged to be able to do a limited amount of work or forecast to be able to so in the future, and received a reduced benefit of £90.

Nobody knows how many of those who were on incapacity benefit before October 2008 would have been able to to work, - in those days there was no formal medical assessment, merely a letter from a doctor. The government has pledged to assess all these fully in the near future.

Those incorrectly assessed as unable to work among the 2.6 million, then could be be as high as almost 2 million. This means that the true unemployment rate could be over 5 million, even ignoring those who merely leave the labour market. (Remembering how the Tories were taunted about a "true" rate of 4% in the 1980s, it is strange that the Tories are not mentioning this.)

Apart from the waste of taxpayers funds in paying fit people to stay at home, and the higher GDP if they worked, there is the extra cost of family despair and breakdown among the recipients.

The government and Tories are belatedly beginning to address the problem, and in different ways expressing "tough love" towards the recipients.