A key feature of the government’s approach to unemployment is the constant vilifying and harassing of the unemployed. It may be a good strategy for diverting attention from government stuff-ups and appealing to voters darker side but there are no signs that it is reducing real unemployment , creating jobs, preparing people for more productive work or helping to share the available work in a fairer way.
This post asks whether there are smarter, fairer ways of dealing with unemployment. It also presents some useful employment and unemployment welfare system data.