A case of downturn deja vu

By Paula Dear BBC News

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With redundancies rising and job vacancies shrinking, unemployment is back in the headlines. As part of a series on Britain's jobless, one man laid off because of the downturn explains how and why lack of work has touched his life.

Mike Kirkham-Jones, 46, hasn't worked since September, thanks to the credit crunch.

The situation means he is living apart from his family while he searches for work, and facing important choices about which direction to go with his life and career.

It's not the first time redundancy has darkened his door, but this time he joins a queue of unemployed people that gets longer by the week.

Like thousands of others in a similar position, Mike is someone the government wants to get back into work quickly, before they lose touch with the labour market.

BRITAIN'S JOBLESS Our series asks, who are Britain's jobless? Interviews with five people who are out of work, published on the BBC News website in December and January Ask a minister about unemployment Q&A: Who are the jobless? Key statistics

Mike, who lives near Newport in south Wales, was told in August he was losing his