The figures make for grim reading.
Between June and August 2011, unemployment in the UK went up by 114,000.
That's 114,000 individuals, many of them with families, who are no longer bringing home the bacon to support themselves and their loved ones - I too am now one of those individuals.
One of the most shocking stats from the latest unemployment figures though is that there are almost 991,000 16 to 24-year-olds on the dole, almost a million. Just think about that for a minute.
It's the worst unemployment figures for 17 years. Back then I was listening to the debut Oasis album, Britpop was in its infancy, John Major was PM and England failed to reach the World Cup in the USA. Scary.
Seventeen years on and we have seen the boom and experienced yet another bust, only this time it feels a lot worse.
At present 2.57m people are out of work and while we have a way to go till that figure reaches three million, should unemployment continue the way it has gone we could be there in just 12 months.
Yet the Con/Dems continue on their path of economic growth and are convinced that the economy will grow if the private sector continues to take over where the public sector is cut.
Small businesses are being seen as the saviour to the ongoing crisis and we all have to hope that the more small businesses that are created the better. But where's the help for them?
David Cameron says every job lost is a "tragedy for the individual and their family." He's not wrong.
For six weeks now I have been re-inventing myself after a successful 10 years as a journalist with The Gazette in Blackpool and latterly as editor of Lancashire Business View. Every month I received a wage and thought the career path I had chosen was a pretty safe one, despite the stranglehold the recession placed on advertising revenue.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Here I am, a day before my birthday, still looking and still re-inventing myself but looking to the future with renewed hope having spoken to scores of people who are in the same boat, trying to keep their head above the water and various other cliches.
"Things will change," they say, " a person with your experience will be snapped up," say others. It hasn't happened yet but I am sure it will. I have to be sure, otherwise, I have been defeated and I cannot let that happen. Neither should the 2.57m people who are in a similar situation.
I mentioned small businesses before and a good contact of mine, Steve Pye, chairman of the Blackpool and Fylde branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, chatted to me over several brews about the current economic situation.
"It's a major concern," said Steve. "The latest announcement shows that small businesses are being unable to grow and are being forced to make cut backs when really they should be maximising what they have and marketing their products for the betterment of their business.
"Growing a small business needn't be a hardship but some bosses are failing at the first hurdle by not using the tools that are at their disposal."
Stay tuned over coming blogs for some news on how small business owners can help maximise their products and how they can be helped.
There's some exciting news on its way.
For now though, life doesn't have to stop just because someone has but a redundant obstacle in your way.
Think on and crack on with what you are good at.
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