Anyone living here in the UK will know of the current issues facing the country with regards to unemployment, it is on the news, radio and in the papers every day and has been pretty much for the past year or so.

According to the National Statistics, the unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent for the three months to January 2009, up 0.5 over the previous quarter and up 1.3 over the year. The number of unemployed people increased by 165,000 over the quarter and by 421,000 over the year, to reach 2.03 million. The unemployment level and rate have not been higher since 1997.

The recession, of course, is not restricted to the UK; in fact it seems to be a lot harder in other countries than we are currently seeing here. In all four corners of the globe, unemployment generally seems to be rising, with some countries reporting a sharp increase in job losses.

We thought we would have a look at some of the key countries around the world and see how badly the recession is affecting them.

USA

Over in the USA, in March 2009 the unemployment rate hit 8.5%, which equates to around 13 million people now unemployed in America. According to the BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Labor Force Statistics ) In March, the number of unemployed persons increased by 694,000 to 13.2 million, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent.

Spain

The BBC website reported that Spain’s unemployment rate, which was already the highest in the eurozone, hit 13.9% in the last quarter of 2008. In real terms, this meant that around 3.2 million were reported out of work in the later parts of 2008, which will of course have risen in the first quarter of 2009.

Germany

The BBC once again lead the reporting news, with its website informing us that Germany’s unemployment rate rose to 8.6% in March of this year as the global economic downturn continued to tighten its grip on Europe’s largest economy. This equates to 3.4 million people, an increase of 69,000 on the last quarter.

China

One of the leading online newspapers for China, ChinaDaily.com reported that China’s urban registered unemployment rate jumped for the first time in five years to 4.2 percent as of Dec 31, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. They also went on to say that during the fourth quarter of last year, the number of registered jobless urbanites jumped to 8.86 million, 560,000 more than that in the third quarter.

Australia

Australia’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.7% in March from 5.2% the previous month, the biggest monthly rise in 18 years, official figures have shown. This means that the unemployment total increased by 52,900 in March to 650,900. “We predict the peak in the unemployment rate will be between 8 and 9% in the second half of next year,” said Besa Deda, chief economist at St George Bank.

Just by looking at five different countries on four different continents, I think it is clear to see that every country is suffering, with some suffering more than others. Unemployment trends have always been somewhat of mystery if it doesn’t effect the reader, but overall it is quite clear to see that unemployment is up, jobs are down and the amount of businesses closing their doors continues to rise.

And with the news yesterday that some people think it will take to 2012 to recover, now is a great time to look for alternative investments, as these could possibly give you the income to survive the next couple of years.

The question everyone seems to be asking at the moment is what will happen during this recession? Although many things will tend to be changing, there are certain key things that usually happens during a recession and these are listed below –

• Houses Prices Fall – One of the most noticeable effects of a recession is that house prices begin to fall. This is mainly because people are not buying or selling, which forces the prices down. Some sources indicate that house prices have fallen by about 20% during this current recession, with many fearing a larger drop before we get out of it. But, one thing to remember is over the history of time, house prices have continually risen, so this is just a blip in the long term graph of house prices.

• Job Losses – Another key effect of a recession is that unemployment will rise. Due to poor sales, reduced production and short term forecast negativity, employers will seek to cut costs by reducing their workforce.

• Reduced Lending – During stable and profitable times, lending is high, especially mortgage lending. During a recession lending noticeably decreases, with many struggling to obtain loans, credit cards and mortgage lending.

• Reduced Spending – People tend to save more money during a recession, thus decreasing the spending on material possessions and also the necessities in life. Consumers will tend to look for lower prices on everyday products, and put off purchasing anything that is not vital.

• Interest Rates Fall – Generally, during a recession the interests rates will fall and be lowered by the Bank Of England. This is mainly to encourage spending and to try to stimulate the economy to reveres or reduce the effects of the recession on the country. Some predict we may see interest rates drop to their lowest rate in 200 or so years, an amazing 1%.

• Businesses Close – If people are not buying and the employer has done everything they can to continue but without success, they will enter administration with the usual effect being to close down. This of course leads to fewer jobs, higher unemployment and decreased spending, a somewhat vicious circle.

• Lower Prices – Shops and manufacturers will tend to drop the prices of their products to increase the spending and therefore increasing their sales. Generally, most things will become cheaper, although electricity and gas prices do not seem to follow this trend.

There are of course other things that could happen during a recession. Some people will say that crime will rise, due to the negativity sweeping the country and the hard times many people will face. Although this is not statistically proven, it is a logical effect of a continuing credit crunch as people struggle to make day to day living affordable.