IT subbies out of work and out for the count

The UK Government is ignorant of the true scale of unemployment and the downturn in IT industry.

So says the Professional Contractors Group (PCG), which claims that inaccurate unemployment figures has given Government a false impression about the true health of the UK's IT sector.

Yesterday PCG Chairman, Simon Griffiths, wrote to the Prime Minister telling him of the despair felt by many contractors who were out of work.

The letter - along with a dossier highlighting the problem - followed comments made by the PM last month that "there are increasing employment opportunities in IT."

This angered the PCG, which received hundreds of personal testimonies from freelancers and IT contractors who are out of work or in jobs where their skills are not being used.

The PCG believes that the Government's perception of the IT sector is based on dodgy stats.

Mr Griffiths told the PM in a letter: "We believe that the majority of IT workers who are currently unemployed are not reflected in the official unemployment figures because very few of them are claiming the Jobseekers Allowance.

"In fact, we believe that there is a strong case for investigating a different category of jobseeker that is available for work in highly specialised areas, but is not seeking to claim benefit. This, we believe would give a more accurate picture of the unemployment situation with regard to independent freelancers."

Last month the PCG wrote to the PM asking him to explain why he believes there is full employment in the IT sector. The PCG has yet to receive a reply. ®

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