Brake: Credit Crunch hits Carshalton and Wallington

1.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 16th Oct 2008

The Government announced yesterday that since September '07, the number of people recorded claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Carshalton and Wallington has risen by 10%, with the actual number of people out of work rising from 1064 to 1174.

Tom Brake, the MP for Carshalton and Wallington says, "This sharp rise in the number of unemployed is damning evidence. It destroys the Government's boast that they have done away with 'boom and bust.'"

"With these figures set to rise even further as the full force of the events of the last few weeks trickle down to the rest of our economy and my constituency, what has the government done to prepare the country and our economy to deal with this crisis?"

On a national level, the number of people out of work in the UK rose by 164,000 between June and August - the biggest rise for 17 years - taking the total to 1.79 million. The report also showed the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 31,800 to 939,900 in September.

"The Government has saved the banking sector, it must now turn its attention to unemployment and inflation. Real families all across Britain are set to suffer hard times over the coming months, not just those working in the Square Mile."