Just got back from my local supermarket and found that a checkout has disappeared and a self service unit (x2)  replaced it. along with the existing 6 others

Thats one less person to check you out, one less job.

I waited behind a customer who had quite a few items, but I did not mind.
A supervisor came up to me and said the self service was open, I declined her offer and continued to wait.
When I got to the checkout, the lady on the Till smiled and said she wished more people would 'Get it'.

On Friday I heard that there were 2.5Million people without jobs. Come July when the school leavers enter into the big bad world there is a real possibility that unemployment could top 3 Million.
                                                                                                                                                                             

Where I work they have self service tills  and yes  the young ones don't mind whazzing through them  but  the older people will queue because they want a 'human' to serve them                                                                                                                                                                                

unemployment is probably nearer 5 or even 6 million - the "unemployment figures" only take into account those claiming jobseekers allowance. After 6 mths unemployment you cannot claim jobseekers anymore (income support instead) You cannot claim jobseekers if you have not paid any/enough national insurance in a given year. i.e school leavers who have never worked, women returning to work, some self employed, people who worked part time. nor does it take into account all those who are on short time hours. we are up shit creek id say!   btw i like those whizzy self service tills but i'll think twice before using them now....note to self : buy more alcohol - you cant use the self service for that!                                                                                                                                                                             

you can  Kwak  cos they just press a magic button or put a fob in the machine to 'approve age',  trust me I know these things                                                                                                                                                                               

I once attempted to use a self-service check-out and ended up shouting at the insipid voice that kept telling me to take things off the belt and put them back on. Since then I've declined to use them and once had to explain to an insistent young man while I was queuing at a human check-out that if I were made to use one, I would probably lose my temper. The fact that they're cutting jobs is another good reason not to use them.

However, I will whenever possible, use self-service petrol pumps to avoid wrangles about removing helmets. Please, no debate. This one was done to death months ago.

ssshhhhhhhhhhhh! Anneka........its the excuse for filling the trolley with red wine!                                                                                                                                                                             

I have used the self service once because i'm impatient, but 9 times out of 10 they seem no quicker than the regular tills, and there always seem to be problems.  So 9 times out of 10 everyone is hanging around waiting for a supervisor to come and sort the problem out....
think i'll stick to the regular till.

I donot use self service, it bad enother having to service yourself at petrol stations.                                                                                                                                                                             

 I regularly  service myself, especially at service stations                                                                                                                                                                               

I started using the self service when they started rationing the flippin carrier bags, I always recycle the old ones in one way or another, and to have to ask a spotty faced teenager if it's ok to have another bag is just not going to happen, sorry.                                                                                                                                                                             

  After 6 mths unemployment you cannot claim jobseekers anymore   I've been unemployed 6 years in September (made redundant) and I claim JSA (job seekers allowance) Income Support is the benefit for when one is sick, I think.   I dislike the self-service check-out, much prefer a person, but  I never thought of it in terms of support for the workers.                                                                                                                                                                              

I won't use the self service because I dont get paid to do it by means of a discount.  Also, I use to get held up by folk who dont know what they are doing, just faffing about and when you use a note it had to be unfolded and flat etc.  I prefer the personal service, but I see why supermarkets have them, to cut down on staff wages being paid out which is reasonable from the point of view of the management.

I have to service myself ......... been single far too long.                                                                                                                                                                               

Well, yes, me too.                                                                                                                                                                              

It doesn't just stop at checkouts, this is just one example of "where every little helps".  (Self service reduces the overheads.) Where price is a deciding factor someone gets "hurt", just look at the farmers.   For every import bought a British worker could've made it. Well, if we had any manufacturing left, but that's another story!                                                                                                                                                                             

Very true and very sad.

I've been watching this series on the BBC where Michael Portillo  is following an old (Victorian)  train guide around Britain, is amazing how self sufficient this country can be when it wants to be.
                                                                                                                                                                             

Sorry Sandi you are quite correct about JSA. but these figures are far nearer the truth.....   from the Office for National Statistics   "The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to November 2010 was 23.4 per cent, up 0.2 on the quarter. The number of economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64 increased by 89,000 over the quarter to reach 9.37 million. The number of people who were economically inactive because they had taken retirement before reaching the age of sixty-five increased by 39,000 on the quarter to reach 1.56 million, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1993"   this does of course include housewifes/husbands (as they cant claim JSA if their partners do so, so arent classed as unemployed and those who have taken early retirement apparently (who can afford to do that????)!! It still leaves the figure at just under 20%                                                                                                                                                                             

Been watching that too Dyna', bit ironic he's doing that. Even worse really, for a Tory he seems pretty decent!                                                                                                                                                                             

Lol, not wrong                                                                                                                                                                              

I Must admit I use the self service on occasions but when I've got alcohol, the red light flashes and someone has to come and decide whether i'm over 18 and key it into the m/c.   For a long time my local tesco would not put bags out on the self service tills but you would have to wait for someone and tell them you required bags, I assume to deter folks from helping themselves to extra bags? (Their good excuse was re-cycling plastic - great Eco for tesco as long as the customer takes the cost hit!) They have at least stopped that practice now and do put the bags out.   I'm afraid self service tills are just another sign of the times and are just a continuation of the cashpoint 'hole in the wall' mentality. We were told decades ago that robots would take over the menial jobs but we weren't told they would not be replacing them jobs with something a little more interesting.   Many people who relied on what amounted to a bit of pin money (all you can call those type of wages!) to enable the odd luxury, much needed holiday or in certain cases even to buy necessities, are now jobless.