Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

It may well have seemed the stuff of science fiction when we were growing up, but increasingly we are exposed to robotic technology, machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) in some form or another in our work and personal lives.

Chamber business leaders from across the United Kingdom have today written to the Prime Minister calling for a renewed focus on tackling the barriers to growth and investment in the United Kingdom - and a radical plan for action.

Half of UK businesses have faced skills or labour shortages in the last year, but only a minority are actively looking overseas to fill vacancies, according to a survey released today by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), in partnership with Middlesex University London. 

• In the three months to September 2013, the unemployment rate was 7.6%
• In the three months to September 2013, unemployment fell by 48,000 and employment increased by 177,000
• Youth unemployment (16-24) fell 9,000 in the three months to September, but was still high at 965,000, and the jobless rate was 21%
• The claimant count fell 41,700 between September and October 2013

• In the three months to July 2013, unemployment fell 24,000, and employment rose 80,000, compared with the previous quarter
• In the three months to July 2013, the unemployment rate was 7.7%, down slightly from 7.8%
• Youth unemployment (16-24 year olds) rose 9,000 to 960,000, and the unemployment rate in this age group was 21%
• Between March and June 2013, public sector employment fell 34,000, and private sector employment rose 114,000

• In the three months to June 2013, unemployment fell by 4,000, and employment rose by 69,000, compared with the previous quarter
• Long term unemployment is up, with further increases in the number of those unemployed for more than one year and two years
• Youth unemployment has risen by 15,000 in the three months to June, and now stands at 973,000
• In July 2013 the claimant count fell by 29,200, compared with June

Commenting on the labour market statistics, published today by the ONS, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: