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Bank of England dove David Blanchflower today called for "a Budget for jobs" to stem the unemployment crisis gripping Britain.
The jobs market expert, who spotted the recession long before colleagues in Threadneede Street, said unemployment will be the biggest issue at the next election.
It has jumped above two million for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997 and looks set to soar to between three million and 3.5 million before the slump is over.
Chancellor Alistair Darling delivers his Budget next Wednesday.
"We need a Budget for jobs," said Blanchflower, "We have a jobs crisis and the Government needs to act quickly. Unemployment is going to rise a lot during 2009. It is probably going to be the biggest issue at the next election."
Blanchflower, who started voting for interest rate cuts to stave off recession in October 2007, a year before the rest of the monetary policy committee woke up to the depth of the crisis, leaves the Bank at the end of next month.
His replacement David Miles, chief UK economist for Morgan Stanley, yesterday said the worst of Britain's recession may be over. "I'm less pessimistic than many of where the economy may be going," Miles said.
