The post you are reporting:
Yes Barry and the ridculously high levels of unemployment in 1993!
Of course we can make statistics say what we want Sid, my very reason for posting the graph. I also pointed out the lack positive correlation, not denying the negative correlation that you highlight. Perhaps the surge around 2004 (having no impact on unemployment) may have more to do with extra eastern european countries joining the EU and so weakening this right wing media myth even more?
Speculatively you could ask what would have happened to the unemployment level if there where not immigrant workers, but then as I say say you could could also ask what the outcome would have been if greed didn't lead to outsourcing.
I realise Sid, that you yourself support British companies and are proud to use them, as am I. However when assets (social and economical) are sold off (eg BT) and the profits of the shareholders become the priority, we erode this British identity and the social and economic capital it can create. If the country still owned it's services we could cry out and stop call centres being moved to India, but as it stands we have no choice other than to be at the hands of the share holders. The only people who don't proportionally benefit from this wonderful 'free market' is the workforce.
This government, continuing the work of Thatcher, seems to think that entrepreneurial business models will increase social mobility, but in the pursuit of greed, the people with 'successful' businesses go abroad where possible, undermining our unskilled and semi-skilled workforce.
Capitalists are happy to exploit opportunities and workforces abroad to make extra profit, yet unwilling to accept we are undervaluing our own workforce, that must be 'lazy'. They then call for the abolition of the minimum wage, attempting it is bad for the worker. But what would this do? Ensure wgaes are truly below benefits, oh right so reduce benefits and before long we have our very own 3rd world wages for our workforce. Their call is just really one to ensure the rich get richer and the poorer will be subservient to their demands. It's funny how some immigrant workers are happy to waver their right to this minimum wage in the same way greedy entrepreneurs are happy to exploit it.