Comparison between unemployment and the claimant count.
"This article looks at the difference between UK unemployment, as officially measured by the Labour Force Survey using the internationally agreed (International Labour Organisation) definition, and the lower claimant count based on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. It gives explanations for the difference between movements of the two measures over time since 1980. Over recent years the gap between the two measures has tended to widen as the labour market has improved. A major reason is that people, who were previously inactive in the labour market, have been encouraged by improvement to the economy to begin actively seeking work (and become unemployed), but have not been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. In contrast the gap has tended to narrow during periods of increasing unemployment."
Paper
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