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Originally Posted by New Brisavoine
What language is that??
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Comical English I do believe
Quote:
Originally Posted by New Brisavoine
The unemployment rate figure in the UK is artificially brought down by putting lots of unemployed people on incapacity benefits. Once the "incapacitated" people are reintegrated among the unemployed, the unemployment rate of the UK becomes the same as that of France.
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Incorrect. The Office for National Statistics (like Eurostat and many other countries and authorities) uses the International Labour Organisation (a UN agency) definition of unemployment.
As per ILO guidelines, people that are studying, suffer a disability/condition, or look after their children/relatives are classified as being economically inactive and are subsequently not included in unemployment figures because they are out of the labour market.
According to Eurostat, not only does France have a higher unemployment rate and lower employment rate compared to the UK, but as per Q1 2014 figures, the ‘active’ population of France stood at 28.31mn, below the 31.29mn figure for the UK despite the smaller total population.
Quote:
Originally Posted by New Brisavoine
One swallow doesn't make a summer. The French economy has grown more since 2008 than the British economy. The UK still has to catch up with France.
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The UK economy undoubtedly experienced a severe contraction following the financial crisis, but the last three years have been a drastically different story.
The present narrative is of two completely divergent economies and unless there is a yet-to-materialise seismic economic shift the UK will conceivably overtake the French economy before the end of the decade:
- the UK has been experiencing multiple quarters of strong growth, massive reductions in unemployment and exceptionally strong confidence levels amongst consumers and businesses, etc…
- the French economy has flat lined for the last two quarters, growth has been lacking, PMI data is atrocious, investment is down, unemployment is still far too high, etc…