UK jobless total falls by 18,000 to 2.49m

Unemployment has fallen slightly - David Freeman from the ONS analyses the figures

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The number of unemployed in the UK fell by 18,000 to 2.49 million in the June-August period, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance last month fell by 41,700 to 1.35 million.

The unemployment rate drops to 7.7%, down from 7.8% the previous quarter.

The number of people in work, both full-time and part-time, reached a record high of 29.87 million in the quarter, up 155,000.

The ONS looks at demand for full-time work and whether part-time workers would rather work longer hours.

It said almost 1.5 million people were part-time because they could not find full-time jobs, the highest figure since records began in 1992.

The unemployment rate has become a key economic indicator for the Bank of England which, under its recently appointed new governor, Mark Carney, is targeting the unemployment rate.

It says it will not consider raising interest rates from their record low of 0.5% until it falls to 7%.

The ONS also reported average earnings rose by 0.7% in the year to August, 0.5% down on July.

Longer term

There was a sharp difference in the number of men and women in part-time employment, with male part-timers increasing by 21,000 and women in part-time work falling by 13,000.

But more women were finding full-time work than men, with male full-time employment up by 69,000 compared with a rise of 79,000 for women.

Youth unemployment remains just below the one-million mark, with 958,000 unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds, down by 1,000 over the quarter.

The number of people unemployed for more than a year fell by 15,000 to 900,000. Those without work for between six months to a year rose by 29,000 to 446,000, but there was a fall of 32,000 people unemployed for up to six months, leaving 1.1 million in that position.

The worst affected areas in the UK were in Birmingham Ladywood where the unemployment rate stands at 11.4% and in West Belfast where it is 9.3%.

'Standards'

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said the figures were "good news".

He added: "These are welcome figures. Of course, we all want to see living standards improve, and last year disposable income increased. But the way to deliver on living standards is to grow the economy, keep producing the jobs and cut people's taxes."

The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Mr Cameron should admit that there was "a cost-of-living crisis in this country".

Mr Miliband said: "Today's economic figures show a welcome fall in unemployment. They also show that prices have risen faster than wages and that is 39 out of 40 months that living standards have fallen since he became prime minister."

The Institute of Directors (IoD) said the jobs data showed the recovery was "job-lite".

The IoD's chief economist, Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: "Today's labour market figures are not surprising. Just as employment losses during the recession were lower than expected, so too are employment gains with recovery. This isn't a jobless recovery but it is a job-lite one."

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) gave a cautious welcome to the figures.

Its chief economist, David Kern, said: "Although concerns remain over youth and long-term employment, the figures show that Britain's labour market is strong and flexible, and that the economy should record satisfactory growth in the third quarter. The large fall in inactivity is particularly pleasing, as more people are returning to the workforce and are looking for jobs."

He added that he expected the unemployment rate to continue to fall steadily and that the 7% unemployment rate targeted by the Bank of England would be reached in the autumn of 2015, a year earlier than the Bank had indicated.

Clashes after teachers protests in Rio and Sao Paulo

Protesters have clashed with the police in Brazil's largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, after marches in support of striking teachers.

Soon after a peaceful march by more than 5,000 people ended in Rio, a much smaller masked group attacked shops, set fire to a police car and threw petrol bombs.

There were also clashes in Sao Paulo, where shops were ransacked.

Police responded with tear and pepper gas and detained dozens of people.

Four officers were injured and seven banks were vandalized during the unrest in Sao Paulo, according to Reuters news agency.

Extra police had been deployed in Rio de Janeiro for the huge protest coinciding with Teacher's Day, on which the country recognises the profession.

Many shops and banks had boarded up their windows after last week's larger protests, which had gathered more than 10,000 supporters.

Police also cordoned off the Rio house of representatives, which was targeted last week.

'Right to strike'

After the end of Tuesday's march, masked protesters from the so-called Black Bloc anarchist group set fire to the boards, as well as public telephones, rubbish bags and other street furniture.

Metal boards were also taken by some groups and used as shields to confront the police.

A police car was set alight and protest slogans written on walls.

Teachers in Rio are demanding better working conditions and salaries and have the support of colleagues in other cities.

They have been on strike for two months and many complained that Rio's state government had started procedures to sanction the striking teachers.

But on Tuesday night, a Supreme Court judge said it considered the government's actions illegal.

Judge Luiz Fux told Brazil's state news agency, Agencia Brasil, that the sanctions infringed, "even if in a roundabout way, the civil servants' right to freedom of expressions through strike".

Mr Fux also summoned union leaders and government officials for talks on 22 October.

In an earlier demonstration on Tuesday, a group of homeless people tried to break into the house of representatives of Sao Paulo.

Police held off the crowd, and a small group later met with government officials.

In the south-eastern city of Belo Horizonte, a peaceful protest was held a central square.

Smaller groups also gathered on Tuesday in Brasilia, the north-eastern city of Salvador and other cities.

Brazil's security situation is a challenge to cities that will play host to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

Hillary Clinton's Mercedes gets London parking fine

A car used by the former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a ticket for parking for 45 minutes in London without paying.

The £80 fine was put on the silver Mercedes as Mrs Clinton attended an event at Chatham House on Friday.

Her security staff were seen discussing the penalty notice with a Westminster Council traffic warden, but he refused to remove the ticket.

A Westminster councillor said: "We have to be fair to everyone."

Westminster City Council cabinet member for business Daniel Astaire said: "The former US Secretary of State was parked for nearly 45 minutes without paying.

"I'm sure she will understand that we have to be fair to everyone, regardless of their status on the world stage."

Mrs Clinton was awarded this year's Chatham House Prize in recognition of her contribution to international diplomacy and work on behalf of gender equality and opportunities for women and girls.

She has not commented on the ticket.

An iPhone Case That Doubles as a Charger

If you are the sort of person who is always short a charging block and cable, the PocketPlug may be just what you are looking for.

The PocketPlug is a case with two flip-out prongs that plug directly into an electrical outlet. You can charge your iPhone, no cable or transformer needed.

The case, which is plastic coated with so-called soft-touch material, provides some protection against dings and dents.

The case also has a USB port on the side that allows charging but not syncing. To sync the phone by wire you must remove it from the case. It has a cut-out for the control buttons and a chamber on the bottom that redirects sound so it comes out of the front of the case.

One difficulty: You can use only headphones with a straight, thin plug. Other kinds of plugs won’t be able to reach the deeply recessed jack.

The case is available for the iPhone 5 and 5s, 4 and 4S. The company said that a case for the Samsung Galaxy III is on the way.

While certainly a convenience, the PocketPlug is a bit expensive at $70. But I suppose you have to ask what it’s worth to never again have to say, “Oh no, I forgot my charger.”

Jeff Fluhr of Spreecast, on Finding Employees Who Fit

This interview with Jeff Fluhr, chief executive of Spreecast, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.

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Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Jeff Fluhr, chief executive of Spreecast, a social video platform, says he thinks that the work background of job candidates is less important than their “softer characteristics,” like “the cultural fit, the chemistry fit, their personality traits, their level of optimism.”

Corner Office

Twice a week, Adam Bryant talks with top executives about the challenges of leading and managing. In his book, "The Corner Office" (Times Books), he analyzes the broader lessons that emerge from his interviews with more than 70 leaders. Excerpt »

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Q. Did you have the entrepreneurial itch when you were a kid?

A. The first thing I did as an entrepreneur was during middle school. I started selling candy to other students, which was not O.K. from the principal’s perspective. I would go to this wholesale candy distributor, buy a bunch of candy in large boxes, and then sell it at marked-up prices.

Q. Are there entrepreneurs in your family?

A. My grandfather started a women’s clothing store in Manhattan that is still around today, and now my mother runs that store. I always looked up to my grandfather, and how he was controlling his own destiny. My father took an early retirement package from his job as an engineering executive at AT&T, and he’s since started a couple of companies as well.

Q. What was your first job after college?

A. I worked at the Blackstone Group in New York. I was 22, and working on these deals where we were buying big manufacturing companies. I spent a few years doing that, and I learned a lot. I had a dual degree from Penn in engineering and finance, and I focused more on the finance side when I went to Blackstone. But I wanted to work with higher-growth technology companies.

Q. That’s quite a first job out of college. What else did you learn from that time?

A. I learned a lot that’s valuable in the start-up world. One is understanding the inner workings of financial modeling. With the companies I’m involved with, I’m generally the only finance person for a while until the company starts to scale. But it also taught me how to look at businesses, and see how certain shifts in industries create opportunities.

I also learned about the discipline of hard work. It was an intense first job, with 80-hour weeks, and being at the office until midnight and sometimes working on weekends. I just saw the value of hard work and the importance of putting in the time.

Q. So your first company was StubHub.

A. I went to Stanford Business School because I wanted to either join a start-up or start my own company. It’s a great institution, but I dropped out because I started StubHub in the middle of my first year. We incorporated the company in March 2000, and then the Internet bubble burst in April 2000. That was an interesting dynamic in terms of raising our first round of capital.

Q. You ran StubHub for seven years before selling it to eBay. What were some lessons you took away from that experience?

A. It was the first time I had an operating role. It was definitely a jump-in-the-deep-end experience. In retrospect, the way we recruited the first handful of people had a lot of positives, but there are probably multiple schools of thought on this. I basically brought in a number of friends — people I knew from college or high school, and others with one degree of separation from those people.

Q. And your thinking was...?

A. One, I have access to them and I know who they are. Two, I respect them and trust them and think they’re smart. And they were interested and available. I’m sure there are people who say you shouldn’t hire your friends. Having said that, one of the huge advantages of doing that is there was instant trust. And hiring people is tough, and there’s a high failure rate in hiring at early-stage companies. With people I already knew, there’s obviously a failure rate there, too. But some of the potential issues were nonissues, like trust and really knowing the person.

Q. Tell me about your approach to hiring at your current company.

A. I’ve found that the softer characteristics of a person — the cultural fit, the chemistry fit, their personality traits, their level of optimism — are far more important than somebody’s experience. What I was often doing at StubHub as the company grew was to say, “O.K., we need a V.P. of marketing and we want somebody who’s been a V.P. marketing at another consumer Internet company, and hopefully, they’ve done these certain things because that’s what we need.” But the reality is that if you get somebody who’s smart, hungry and has a can-do attitude, they can figure out how to do A, B and C, because there’s really no trick to most of these things.

Q. So how do you interview now?

A. I always ask people why they’re thinking about leaving their current job, and why it isn’t fulfilling what they’re looking for. Part of that conversation is about what they’re looking for, and their goals for the next step of their career. Understanding that helps create a picture of whether they’re going to be a good fit.

Q. What else about the culture at your current company?

A. We’ve always done “hack days,” where the engineers basically can build whatever they want for a full day, and then present what they’ve done to the company. But recently we’ve started doing “hack weeks.” So we basically let the engineers build whatever they want for a week, and then present their ideas to the whole company. And all of the nonengineers are also asked to come up with ideas for what features they want to see on Spreecast, or it could even be on some parallel initiative. It allows us to innovate completely out of the box.

Motivating engineers and keeping them excited and engaged is something we’re obviously very interested in. We’re trying to create a sense of empowerment and autonomy where they can kind of do what they want, and they don’t just always have to do the next batch of work that’s on the priority list.

Q. What career advice would you give to a graduating class of college seniors?

A. One of the things I tell people is that experience is overrated. I still sometimes find myself falling into the trap of thinking, when I’m trying to fill a role, “Has the person done the work that the role requires?” That’s the wrong question. It should be, “Let’s find a person who has the right chemistry, the right intellect, the right curiosity, the right creativity.” If we plug that person into any role, they’re going to be successful.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

A Day to Remember the First Computer Programmer Was a Woman

In 1842, Ada Lovelace, known as the “enchantress of numbers,” wrote the first computer program.

Fast-forward 171 years to today (which happens to be Ada Lovelace Day, for highlighting women in science, technology, engineering and math), and computer programming is dominated by men.

Women software developers earn 80 percent of what men with the same jobs earn. Just 18 percent of computer science degrees are awarded to women, down from 37 percent in 1985. Fewer than 5 percent of venture-backed tech start-ups are founded by women.

Those statistics, released by Symantec, the security company, and the Anita Borg Institute, which works to recruit and promote women in tech, provide context for recent debates in Silicon Valley, like why Twitter has no women on its board.

Given that girls begin to shy away from computer science when they are young, because of a lack of role models and encouragement from parents and teachers, perhaps a short history lesson on Ms. Lovelace would be helpful.

She was the daughter of Lord Byron, the poet, who split from her mother shortly after her birth. Her mother encouraged her to pursue math to counter her father’s “dangerous poetic tendencies,” according to the University of California, San Diego.

Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, some people sense change in the air.

“There’s a lot more focus than we’ve seen in the past, and a lot more hard conversations,” said Telle Whitney, chief executive of the Anita Borg Institute.

The Symantec and Anita Borg report tried to find a bright side — the wage gap is smaller in technology and engineering than it is in other fields, and the job opportunities are many.

Astia, which offers programs for women tech entrepreneurs, announced Tuesday a partnership with Google to expand its lunch series for introducing women founders to investors.

And two scientists, sponsored by Brown University, are hosting a mass Wikipedia editing session on Tuesday, for people to create and expand upon entries for women in science and technology.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day.

South Dakota Ranchers Face Storm’s Toll, but U.S.’ Helping Hands Are Tied

UNION CENTER, S.D. — The cattle lay in heaps of tangled hooves, collapsed against fences and submerged in creeks. Some had curled up behind hay bales, hiding from 70 mile-per-hour winds that scattered herds for miles, struck by hypothermia weeks before they were scheduled to go to market.

In one of the worst blizzards to hit western South Dakota, ferocious winds and snow as deep as five feet killed tens of thousands of livestock and damaged the area’s economy. More than a week later, many of the cows remain unburied.

“At this point in time, it’s important to step over the dead ones and take care of the living,” said Gary Cammack, a state representative and rancher who lost 120 cows and calves, about a fourth of his herd.

Delayed by more inclement weather and ground too soggy for tractors, Mr. Cammack, like many ranchers in this farming community just east of the Black Hills, hopes to begin the gruesome work of cleaning up the carcasses this week. But while state and county agencies have helped clear roadsides and have provided burial pits, the federal government shutdown has only complicated the crisis.

Fetching about $2,000 a head and outnumbering South Dakotans by 5 to 1, cattle make up about a quarter of the state’s $24 billion-a-year agriculture industry, its largest economic driver. About a third of the state’s 16,000 beef farms are west of the Missouri River, the area hit hardest by the storm.

Ranchers looking for guidance on how to document their losses with the federal Farm Service Agency, whose workers have been furloughed, are, as some here say, “plumb out of luck.” And the stalling of a farm bill in Congress has left many families skeptical about whether disaster relief will ever come.

State officials estimate a death toll of as many as 20,000 cows. An official number may not be known for weeks as producers continue to search for livestock. But the loss has become about more than the economic devastation, which could linger for years and put some producers out of business. South Dakotans are fiercely self-reliant, but they now feel invisible as they ask federal officials to lend a hand.

“If this event had happened to one rancher, if he had lost everything that he owned, you would not hear one word from us,” Mr. Cammack said. “We would pull together and make him whole. But how do you do that when you’re all in the same boat?”

On Oct. 4, after a week of 80-degree temperatures, heavy rain shifted into 36 hours of unexpected whiteout conditions that left close to five feet of snow in some areas. The blast of snow, rare for early October, was the fourth-heaviest ever recorded in South Dakota, said Susan Sanders, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Rapid City. A much smaller weather system swept through this week, as cold temperatures, rain and snow continue to plague the region and put surviving cows at risk of exhaustion and sickness.

Ranchers say the cows had not developed winter coats and were still grazing in summer pastures when the storm hit, making them vulnerable in unprotected fields and largely out of reach. The financial toll is even greater when considering the calves those cows would have produced.

“They were carrying next year’s paycheck,” said Lynn Spring, a rancher who considered himself lucky for losing 100 cattle.

The blow comes a year after cattle ranchers weathered a severe drought that raised feed prices and forced some to shrink their herds. The recent losses only added uncertainty to their balance sheets, especially with Congressional leaders at an impasse on the farm bill.

The legislation could include a livestock disaster program that provides assistance for producers in dire straits. Kristi Noem, a Republican who is South Dakota’s sole House member, was recently appointed to a committee tasked with hashing out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the measure.

But ranchers, who are working to document their livestock deaths so they can submit the figures when the government reopens, are doubtful that help will come from Congress anytime soon.

“They’re acting like a bunch of kids fighting over a toy,” said Matt Kammerer, another South Dakota rancher. “They’re getting paid; they ain’t feeling any hardship.”

Mr. Kammerer was among the thousands of residents who lost power during the blizzard, hunkering down at home with his family playing the board game Trouble by candlelight. By the time he emerged, he had lost a fifth of his 200 cows, a number he brought a county commissioner out to verify on a recent morning.

Out in a field, they gazed down at an open grave, where his animals were stacked three layers deep, with dozens more owned by other ranchers. Farther out, in a nearby pasture, cattle that belonged to a distant relative of Mr. Kammerer lay uncollected. Out of a herd of 125, only 11 survived, he said.

“They might not ever recoup,” he said, fighting back tears. “You take $80,000 worth of debt at the bank, and there’s nothing left for them to pay that off. I mean, there’s nothing.”