Yesterday's jobs figures
I would be the first to agree that we cannot be complacent, but a set of good economic figures released yesterday confirms that recovery from the disastrous economic situation inherited by the present government when Labour left office is definitely under way.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show there are now a record number of people in work, with employment up by over 1.7 million since the election, meaning more people with the security of a good job and a regular pay packet.
As these strong jobs numbers show, our long-term economic plan is delivering for Britain - creating a stronger, healthier economy, and moving us closer towards our target of full employment.
We’ve been doing this by backing business with lower jobs taxes and better infrastructure, while reforming welfare to make sure work always pays. And as today’s figures confirm, this approach is working, with another big fall in unemployment, and more people than ever before having the security of work.
There is more to do, and we know that families are still feeling the effects of Labour’s Great Recession. But the only way to get living standards up sustainably is to keep working through the plan that is getting people off welfare and into work – so that more people can have the security and self-respect of a decent job and are better able to provide for themselves and their families.
Don't hand the keys back to the people who crashed the car!
Labour left office with nearly half a million more people out of work than when they started because they wrecked the economy.
Their plans for more ineffective spending, more borrowing and higher taxes on jobs are exactly what got us into a mess before, and would put jobs, the recovery and the security of Britain's future at risk.
It’s the same old Labour - they still haven’t learned their lesson.
Key statistics
· Employment: 30.8 million (up 112,000 this quarter and up 1.7 million since the election).
· Employment rate: 73.0 per cent (up 0.2 points this quarter and up 2.8 points since the election).
· Unemployment: 1.96 million (down 115,000 this quarter and down 550,000 since the election).
· Unemployment rate: 6.0 per cent (down 0.3 points this quarter and down 2.0 points since the election).
· Claimant count: 931,700 in October (down 20,400 on September and down 563,100 since the election).
· Total weekly pay: in September 2014 this was up by 1.4 per cent over the year.
· There are a record number of women in work – and the annual fall in female unemployment is the largest on record.
· Long-term unemployment has fallen 206,000 over the year – the biggest annual fall in 16 years.
· Youth unemployment is down 244,000 over the last year.
· Private sector employment has risen by more than 2 million since the election – there are now more people in private sector employment than ever before.
· 1.3 million of the jobs created since the election have been full-time – three-quarters of the rise in employment.
· The fall in unemployment and the growth in employment rate over the last year is the largest in the G7.
· Two thirds of the rise in employment since 2010 has been in higher skilled occupations.
· It was also announced yesterday that total pay has risen faster than inflation - so real incomes have finally started to move in the right direction.
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