In times of need - Government will you ever do your job?

The latest unemployment figures are alarming. Almost 280,000 are now unemployed. The figure for September was up by 120,000 over a year earlier.

Some 80,800 of those jobs were lost in the construction industry, which helps to explain why twice as many men as women are currently unemployed.

As the purchasing power of so many people declined, the wholesale and retail sectors lost 31,400 jobs in what has become a vicious circle. A sizeable proportion of the losses can be explained by emigration and migrants returning to their home countries.