U.K.'s Royal Mail is "coming under increasing pressure" to honour Paralympic Gold Medalists with their own stamps as it did for London Games Olympians. Shadow Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell has "waded into the row," urging Royal Mail to reconsider its decision to honour every Gold Medal-winning performance in the Olympics with its own stamp, but only celebrate Paralympics winners in a set of six stamps. Jowell said, "The stamps for Team GB's Gold Medallists have been such an emblematic part of this nation's celebrations during the Olympic Games. It would be a shame if this important symbol was not offered to our Paralympian heroes as well" (GUARDIAN, 8/15).
UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS: The number of Britons out of work "has fallen to its lowest level in almost a year," with the decline partly due to "jobs created by the London Olympics as well as an increase in self- and part-time employment." The number of people out of work in London fell by 42,000, suggesting "some of the improvement in the labour market was due to the Olympic Games" (GUARDIAN, 8/15).
GOING, GOING, GONE: U.K. magazine Radio Times sold more than 1 million copies of its Olympics issue, including 30% more than usual through retailers, making the publisher more than £2M ($3.1M) in revenue. Radio Times publisher Exponent's "gamble on Olympic fever paid off" with an extra 185,000 copies sold (GUARDIAN, 8/15).
