LONDON – The economy in London is similar to other industrialized cities in the world: a declining number of jobs with an overflow of applicants, leaving many would-be workers out in the cold, literally.

Like in the United States, people living in the United Kingdom are finding themselves laden with unneeded skills and looking for social service programs, which are quickly becoming the last resort from living on the streets.

“We’ve tried everything to find work,” said Rachael Murray, 39, a London resident who resorted to panhandling in late 2008. “My husband found some temporary work from different (job) centers, but they never last long.”

Murray and her husband, a former British soldier, are part of a growing number of working poor around the globe on the verge of becoming homeless. She said that she used to think begging for money was never something that people willing to work would have to do.

But the times they are a’ changing. 

“I have two children and I have to do whatever … work is hard to find,” said Murray, an Australian native who moved to the UK two years ago with her husband. She added that she doesn’t have legal residency status yet and there are less services available for her until she becomes legal.

Social service programs like Centerpoint, a government funded program that caters to youth in London, and Look Ahead, a program that helps people living on the streets, are two examples of the various services available to those in financial trouble.

There are also advocacy groups, like the London Coalition Against Poverty, that voice concerns on behalf of those in the most need. According to their Web site, LCAP organized a sit-in that completely blocked the entrances and exits to a government legislation building where a new bill that aims to reduce low-income services was written. The group claims that they do not condone violence or conflict but that certain things need to be brought to the attention of the public.

Murray’s situation isn’t unique or even uncommon. She said that between her and her husband they can barely afford food and housing for their family. Many of the people panhandling on the streets of London were once low-wage workers who lost their jobs, for various reasons, and there is an influx of people willing to fill the few open spots.

Alex Frade, 31, a native of Spain who immigrated to England and became a citizen over ten years ago, fits this profile to a tee. He has been looking for a job in the retail industry where he said he’s worked for years.

“More people are looking for jobs,” Frade said in a heavy Spanish-English accent.

“There’s less vacancies at the (job) centers and less centers because the (government) is cutting down.”

Farde’s last job was working for the now defunct Woolworth Company, which closed its last shop in London earlier this year and had to lay off every employee. 

As Frade looks to social service programs in London to help him out, he thinks that the system just can’t cope with the high demand. He also said that when work is available, the pay is often too low to afford to survive in such an expensive city.

“I get depressed sometimes and I get in trouble for it,” said Farde. “I’m really just trying to survive until (the economy) gets better so it will bring more jobs around.”

England’s unemployment rate is creeping around 8%, and in turn, more and more people are finding themselves willing to do anything to survive. In California, the unemployment rate has already passed 10%.

The question of whether these two places can handle the rising number of people in financial trouble remains to be seen, but if the lack of funds for social service programs in California is any indicator, local communities here in the Bay Area may start seeing more London style street workers – hard-working low-wage workers with nowhere else to go.