The true cost of the financial crash

UK unemployment is rising quickly. The last available data from the Labour Force Survey is for October, when the rate reached 6.2 percent. That number is going to jump when the December data is released.

Increasing unemployment is the last link in a chain of misfortune that started with reckless monetary policy. Low interest rates generated an unsustainable housing bubble. When it finally busted, it left in its wake a banking crisis, and collapsing consumer confidence. In turn, this led to a contraction in GDP and mounting job losses.

All UK housing bubbles have ended this way.