(not satire – it’s the UK today)
Well now. Here’s an interesting ranking of countries according to how generous their unemployment benefit is for the first year after workers have lost their jobs.
Quite contrary to the spin we constantly receive from the mainstream press et al about how generous the UK is with unemployment benefits, the fact is we actually rank lower in generosity than countries like Romania, Albania and even the US.
Here’s the ranking – with the most generous countries at the top (you have to go right to the bottom to find the UK):
Country | Gross Replacement Rate, year 1 | Ranking |
Netherlands | 0.7 | 1 |
Switzerland | 0.687 | 2 |
Sweden | 0.685 | 3 |
Portugal | 0.65 | 4 |
Spain | 0.635 | 5 |
Norway | 0.624 | 6 |
Algeria | 0.612 | 7 |
Taiwan | 0.6 | 8 |
Ukraine | 0.56 | 9 |
Italy | 0.527 | 10 |
Denmark | 0.521 | 11 |
Russia | 0.505 | 12 |
Tunisia | 0.5 | 13 |
Finland | 0.494 | 14 |
France | 0.479 | 15 |
Bulgaria | 0.473 | 16 |
Canada | 0.459 | 17 |
Romania | 0.45 | 18 |
Hong Kong | 0.41 | 19 |
Austria | 0.398 | 20 |
Belgium | 0.373 | 21 |
Argentina | 0.354 | 22 |
Germany | 0.353 | 23 |
Greece | 0.346 | 24 |
Azerbaijan | 0.338 | 25 |
Egypt | 0.329 | 26 |
Venezuela | 0.325 | 27 |
Belarus | 0.313 | 28 |
Israel | 0.307 | 29 |
Japan | 0.289 | 30 |
United States | 0.275 | 31 |
Kyrgyzstan | 0.255 | 32 |
New Zealand | 0.254 | 33 |
Latvia | 0.253 | 34 |
India | 0.25 | 38 |
Korea, South | 0.25 | 37 |
Uruguay | 0.25 | 36 |
Uzbekistan | 0.25 | 35 |
Ireland | 0.238 | 39 |
Hungary | 0.235 | 40 |
Poland | 0.226 | 41 |
Czech Republic | 0.225 | 42 |
Australia | 0.21 | 43 |
Turkey | 0.206 | 44 |
Albania | 0.202 | 45 |
United Kingdom | 0.189 | 46 |
Brazil | 0.152 | 47 |
Estonia | 0.132 | 48 |
Lithuania | 0.117 | 49 |
Chile | 0.115 | 50 |
Georgia | 0.09 | 51 |
For more details of how the list was compiled – have a look at this excellent website:
World ranking in Unemployment Benefit replacement rates
The data by the way, is taken from a study compiled for the IMF – before anyone starts accusing me of peddling left-wing propaganda.
I don’t know about you, but I think it would be nice to see a few real facts being allowed to surface in the debate about welfare reform – instead of the ill-informed spin and propaganda that passes for debate on benefits we’re getting at the moment in the UK.
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Related articles by Tom Pride:
900k dropped disability benefits because of the Tories? Nope. It was the same under Labour
Daily Mail uses dead children to make a political point about the welfare state
Don’t turn your back. Because you’re also going to be disabled too one day.
Homebase are so embarrassed about using workfare – they’re reduced to lying about it
Salvation Army denies existence of Workfare scheme it participates in (no – not satire)
A4e given over 45 million of taxpayers money – to give classes on using toilet paper
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Please feel free to comment – you don’t need to register and I’m extremely minimal with the moderating – so please go ahead.
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By the way, if you click on any of these buttons below, you’ll be doing me a favour by sharing this article with other people. Thanks:
bobchewie said:
@tom pride a survey showed that ppl thought uk was a ‘soft touch’ when it comes to benefits i think 70% thought that, so i guess you got to ask why that many ppl think that..maybe its daily express and torygraph and daily heil headline..but as the say ‘no one really believes what you read in the papers anway”..
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bobchewie said:
@tom heres an odd thing i did come across…
Making Money On Poverty: JP Morgan Makes Bigger Profits When The Number Of Americans On Food Stamps Goes Up
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/making-money-on-poverty-jp-morgan-makes-bigger-profits-when-the-number-of-americans-on-food-stamps-goes-up
heres the thing jpmc are connected to mastercard and mastercard funded the demos think tank on social fund smart card plan..
now we read that jpmc are making a fortune out of food stamp program in US..so is jpmc traying to cash in over here as well?
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bobchewie said:
this login looks like the bacs one i came across that was to do with smart cards..
see jpmc amd mastercard
https://sdol.mastercard.com/jpmorganchase
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Tom Pride said:
Thanks Bob. I’ll have a look at it.
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bobchewie said:
well done and good luck , you’re doing well atm mate..
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teddymcnabb said:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CFcQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Ffactchecks%2Fbulgarians_romanians_migration_minimum_wage_richer_uk-28784&ei=2YBsUdjEOOOY0AWm24HwDQ&usg=AFQjCNHUkR0j0h_8bYlYFUzm0QwXr_p8TQ&sig2=EF8P5arZoVNPRbjnRZZ–g&bvm=bv.45175338,d.d2k
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bobchewie said:
give up on non essentials says housing association
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21835606
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bobchewie said:
@teddy mcnabb govt has increased NMW by a staggering 12 pence lucky us eh?
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7rin said:
Reblogged this on Sociology + Social Policy = Sociopolocy and commented:
Not a widely known fact, I’d wager.
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bobchewie said:
@TOM PRIDE seems our figures are out of date..have been given this to help you update what you have…its still not good for UK ..
http://stats.oecd.org/
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KH said:
I wonder if the scores of people seeing this on Facebook stop to think about what it means.
For example, Kyrgyzstan ranks above the UK.
If their average salary is $280 / year (yes, really), and the unemployment benefit is 25.5% of that figure, then that means that the average unemployment benefit in Kyrgryzstan is about £3 per week.
Yet many people will look at this chart uncritically and infer that all the countries ranked above the UK have “better” all-round benefits systems than the UK. (Really? You want your benefits system replaced with one that pays three quid a week?! Presumably not!)
This kind of data is only illuminating if handled thoughtfully. Sadly, I suspect that most people are being less than critical.
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retiredandangry said:
Reblogged this on The Big Picture.
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Editor said:
Reblogged this on kickingthecat.
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Tom Pride said:
KH – what an idiotic reply. The ranking is based (mainly) on % of salary paid for first year of unemployment. That means it would not be ‘replaced with one that pays 3 quid a week’ but with the equivalent salary in the UK.
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justin thyme said:
does this include the extra 12p increase per week for adults and the 5 p increase for up to 21 yr olds??
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guy fawkes said:
Chewie
From what I can gather JP Morgan also have their fingers in the Bit Coin pie of virtual currencies also.
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nedhamson said:
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News and commented:
When have facts ever been important to Tories?
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Chris said:
@KH
It would seem to me that it is more relevant that it’s 25% of average salary than it being £3 a week. £3 a week in Kyrgyzstan most likely is better than £50 a week in the UK because, based on the lower average salaries, goods and services will cost less.
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rollo57 said:
J P Morgan owns the Post Office, this whole country is ran like a business with courts police and councils ALL registered as companies. Even Parliament has a company No- UC2279443. Look on Dun & Bradstreet or Duport, these are websites, like companies house, you will see Lancashire County Council, LCC was incorporated in 2002 (IP00666C) It’s registered office was 3rd Floor, Christchurch Precint, County Hall, Preston. It was completely dissolved on 25th Jan 2008. All assets and liabilities of LCC were transferred on 12th Nov 2007, to The Blues and Two’s Credit Union Ltd, whose registered address is Lancashire Police HQ, PO Box77, Hutton, Preston. They now own ALL LCC assets and liabilities, How can anyone PAY a Council Tax to a Council that doesn’t exist?
http://www.tpuc.org and also http://www.thebcgroup.org.uk
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Chris Beeson said:
The IMF paper seems to be saying that many countries provide unemployment support through insurance schemes that pay a fixed percentage of salary. The UK has a fixed rate benefit payment, so presumably the UK GRR figure is a ratio between unemplyoment benefit and average wage. Also, in the UK there are additional benefits such as housing and council tax support. I’d never claim that the UK was generous, but it’s difficult to see how there can be a valid comparison of GRRs between countries with such diverse benefit systems.
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Mary R said:
Reblogged this on Rites of Life and commented:
Don’t miss this
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benlucas92BEn said:
Hi Tom
Interesting Stats.
I was wondering if firstly your article could be amended to include how the data is calculated and presented.
But also what does unemployment benefit cover in other countries? For example in the UK one my be entitled to unemployment benefit + housing benefit+ others etc…..where as in the netherlands it is all done as one payment? Please could you address this question?
Keep writing the good articles x
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Steve Cheney said:
“but as the say ‘no one really believes what you read in the papers anway”..”
This is the danger of cynicism, unfortunately. It makes people very unlikely to question their own beliefs.
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Steve Cheney said:
Funnily enough, I work with an Estonian girl. I shall have to tell her to quit her job and go on the dole =D
Nah, but seriously, thanks for this. I know it won’t persuade anybody who’s really determined to believe that our country is awesome and that’s why we need to make it worse, but it might make them less persuasive to people who haven’t made their mind up.
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Steve Cheney said:
It’s true that it’s hard to compare, but then, that never stops people from going on about how much MORE generous we supposedly are, either.
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robert armstrong said:
as if we believe this rubbish pull the other one
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bobchewie said:
If it were generous then there be ppl with gold plated mansions according to the daily hate.. Its far from generous ppl cutting back on food and now its heating or eating..
Anyone stuck on benefits knows how tough it is..a fucking stockbroker wouldn’t have a clue some even use the word ‘ giro ‘ despite that phasd out ages ago.
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robert armstrong said:
Are you a immigrant?
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bobchewie said:
Of course I am..but I cleverly went out of the way to get my parents to mate in this country so I could be born in the UK..and then stay in Britain for the next 50 years ..so
far no one has cottoned on to this little scheme I thought up..
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Tom Pride said:
Bob – Ha!
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bobchewie said:
@Tom Pride have noticed that tory law is all backwards ?
1. Execution ..benefit claimant deaths
2 punishment ..benefits removed
3 on trial – daily hate judging them
4 charged – accusations of being a scrounger
5 arrested – malevolent benefit fraud accusations
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bobchewie said:
@Tom Pride have noticed that tory law is all backwards ?
1. Execution ..benefit claimant deaths
2 punishment ..benefits removed
3 on trial – daily hate judging them
4 charged – accusations of being a scrounger
5 arrested – malevolent benefit hotline fraud accusations fraud squad ..
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