The main concern for many people is that things are moving in the wrong direction. Unemployment is rising, and the pace has picked up very slightly, redundancies are up over the year and job vacancies are falling. It means workplaces are more likely to be laying people off, so those who remain in work feel less secure.<\/p>\n
Read more: How to upskill your career with free AI courses<\/a><\/p>\n When things are steadily getting worse, it\u2019s difficult to know where this will end. The Office for Budget Responsibility is optimistic, expecting it to remain around 5% for a while and then drop back closer to 4.1% by 2027. The Bank of England thinks it\u2019ll hang around for longer at the current level; however the monetary policy committee admitted there\u2019s a risk it could be higher than expected.<\/p>\n There are a couple of potential spanners in the works. There\u2019s the massive unknown quantity of AI, which has started to impact hiring decisions, and is only likely to play an increasingly important role as the technology improves.<\/p>\n A Kings College study found that those businesses with the most AI crossover have cut staffing by 4.5% and junior positions by 5.8%. They were also 16.3 percentage points less likely to advertise new jobs. It\u2019s one reason why the ONS data shows the unemployment rate of those aged 18-24 in November was almost 13%<\/a> and the employment rate less than 61%.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the loss of junior roles has an impact on the jobs market that may look at first glance to be a sign of strength. As junior roles go, it automatically means that average pay among those who remain in their jobs increases. It means we may see average pay rises and assume it\u2019s a positive, when part of the movement will be directly as a result of job losses.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the risk that businesses are reluctant to invest in new staff. There\u2019s a horrible level of uncertainty in the wider world, coupled with incredibly sluggish economic growth and the worry about business taxes every time there\u2019s a budget.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, it has been 10 years since the consumer confidence index was in positive territory, so as people hold back on purchases, companies aren\u2019t keen to expand.<\/p>\n Read more: UK firms splash out almost \u00a3236,000 in past year on AI, poll finds<\/a><\/p>\n This lack of confidence has led to cost-cutting, including the so-called \u2018delayering\u2019 of the workforce: removing levels of middle managers.<\/p>\n It means people later in their careers, many of whom are on higher incomes, suddenly find themselves out of work. Not only that, but because every business in their sector may be doing the same thing, they struggle to find work again.<\/p>\n Unemployment can have a devastating impact on your financial resilience. The HL Savings and Resilience Barometer shows that, on average, unemployed households don\u2019t have anything left at the end of the month.<\/p>\n Overall, households have enough cash to cover more than three months of their essential spending. Among unemployed households, this falls to less than a week.<\/p>\n Read more: Best savings accounts as Iran war stokes inflation fears<\/a><\/p>\n If you find yourself in this boat, it\u2019s worth checking whether you qualify for any state support. You may be able to get jobseeker\u2019s allowance \u2013 assuming you have worked and paid national insurance contributions recently.<\/p>\n You may also get universal credit, although this won\u2019t apply if you have savings and investments. In any case, you will need to budget for the fact this is likely to offer a much lower level of income than you\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n It means that anything you can build while you\u2019re working could be a lifeline later. It\u2019s worth revisiting your emergency savings as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Ideally you should have enough cash to cover 3-6 months\u2019 worth of essential spending \u2013 in a competitive easy access savings account. It\u2019s worth checking online banks and savings platforms to make sure you\u2019re making the most of this money.<\/p>\n Having a cushion of cash will help keep you on track if you are out of work for a period. At the moment, the HL Barometer shows just over half of people are in this position (52%), so it\u2019s worth making sure you\u2019re one of them.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple<\/a> and Android<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 In historical terms, the current unemployment rate of around 5% isn\u2019t much to write home about. 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Fired woman \u00b7 Jackyenjoyphotography via Getty Images <\/p>\n