High unemployment in the UK

Unemployment has reached 1.72 million and is forecast to reach 2 million which is the highest it has been for the last decade. Due to Lehman brothers going bankrupt unemployment has risen by 5000 and unemployment rose by 100's when Xl airlines went bust because they could no longer afford fuel because of the recent rise in oil prices. Lehman brothers went bust because they were too dependent on the US house mortgage markets which have been suffering because of the credit crunch. The government didn't bail out Lehman brothers because they didn't want to appear as if they were bailing out everyone in trouble and believed that Lehman brothers should pay for their mistakes.