Help wanted

AS WELL as a further fall in unemployment, of 36,500 to 1.6m, the jobs figures for June, released this week, showed a rise of 8,100 in the number of unfilled vacancies at the government's Jobcentres, to a record 282,400. The ratio of vacancies to unemployment is now way above the peak seen in the boom of the late 1980s (see chart). Past studies have shown that Jobcentre vacancies are about a third of all jobs on offer across the country. If this still holds true, there is now one job for every two people unemployed, if only they had the right skills and experience.