It is interesting that within one article you can talk of 'unemployment rising by 1 million' on the one hand, and 'a chronic shortage of labour' in the farming sector on the other. Is this not somewhat contradictory? Or is is just that we have become too fussy about the kind of work we will do?

Katie Church, Reading,

Having lived through the last couple of recessions,I saw this coming long ago.
I struggled to borrow £100k for a mortgage in 1991,even though both my wife & me earned over 20k each(1991 remember)
Isaw a taxi driver looking at a £360k gaff a couple of yrs ago.
Come onn get real!!!!

john, newcastle,

In the States and Australia, there was a program of helping the unemployed to get work by linking them up with job agencies in the private sector - instead of ordering people to 'show that they've been looking for work' by putting company names into a booklet in the UK. Labour's rubbish!

John, London,

The BBC and Radio 4's Farming Today daily news have consistently documented the paucity of willing indigenous labour to do any of the British farm jobs.

12 years of Labour government that can't extract labour from its own electorate. Perhaps a Leisure Party could achieve better.

Gerry, London,

Preceding this, we had the longest period of sustained growth yet the man running the economy didn't put a farthing aside. And he tells us that he's the man to get us out of this mire........get real.

Paddy H, Edinburgh,

2.4million unemployed but farmers can't get staff?
Says it all really.

Eric Downer, Honiton, uk

Retail recession is a self fullfilling prophesy. We read in the media that times are getting tougher and a recesion is on the way so we spend less. The stores report a fal in sales that the media trump as proof so we spend less. The media report......and so it continues

Andy P, Swindon,

The slowdown is gaining momentum.

This will be the biggest recession the UK has ever seen.

Alan Smith, London, UK

No, Andrew Piercey, you are not alone - I have been complaining about the BoE's obsession with inflation for over 12 months.
We have lived with 15% inflation and more ! 7% would be no great shakes.
Several million unemployed and hundreds of thousands losing their homes WOULD be, however

Trevor, Ipswich, UK

Inflation is likely to plunge, but BoE have their hands tied by not being able to reduce interest rates because of the parameters they have been given by the government. So, in six months time, we'll all have the opposite problem - probably deflation, but a deep recession.
A ridiculous situation.

Andy, Colchester, Essex

We need tax cuts and interest rate cuts this year. Am I the only one stunned by the BoE continuing to witter about inflation and the PM continuing to promise extra government spending as though nothing had happened? No Gordon! Tells us how you can deliver the same services for less money!

Andrew Piercy, London, UK

Crops still need to be harvested and the population still needs to be fed. The consumer 'slowdown' has no bearing on this. What makes Britain less attractive to eastern European migrants is the low value of Sterling. As previous posters have said, there is enough indigenous labour available.

Paul, Coventry,

There is destruction of wealth occurring now on a massive scale in the UK.

Any company chairman or CEO who presided over such destruction in his/her own company would be required by the shareholders to resign.

Why are Brown and Darling still in office?

MarkS, Leeds,

Let see if Mr Brown can borrow us out of this one!

Mark, Leeds,

A recession you say? On the way you say? How comes I haven't heard of this before!?

Tony, Islington, London, UK

It's not just the economic slowdown that makes people want to leave the country, it's having to endure two more years of Brown and his incompetent bunch.

Albert Hall, gloucester,

i like the way some people are expected to jump ship, we'll stay here and work it out with hard graft

"pledge my grievance to the flag, because you dont give blood and take it back again" -eddie vedder

ricki michael, truro, england

Tony your comment unbelievable it isnt good enough that lazy people are claiming benifits causing the public to have to fork out more you now want the public to pay more when its broke to people i say no let them take the jobs left by the imigrants let them pick veg on farms learn to work for once

Jean, Richmond, UK

The Govt tried to introduce work for the dole in Australia and the civil rights people had a huge whinge. Its demeaning to make the unemployed work for their money apparentely. They might learn skills and get into the work habit and then where would we be.

Emma, Canberra, Australia

RBS say '2.4m unemployed', NFU say 'chronic shortage of labour'. Hmm, there's a clue there. Perhaps people will need to think about doing jobs which were previously only considered suitable for migrant workers.

Chris, Perth WA, Australia

Now that unemployment is set to rise by as much as one million, it is now time for government to stop merely being content with trying to manage welfare, and instead look at introducing waged public works programmes, particularly for the young and the fathers of young families.

Tony Makara, Manchester,