Minister hails increased employment rate
Jane Kennedy, Minister for Work has said the latest employment figures show the strength of the UK labour market.
But, opposition MPs have focused on the disparities within the working population.
This month’s Labour Force Survey shows that there were 28.52 million people in work between October and December 2004.
Overall, employment rose by 90,000 on the previous quarter and by 296,000 on the year. Over the year unemployment fell by 56,000 and inactivity fell by 16,000.
Vacancies are also at a historically high levels with redundancies around the lowest on record.
Surveys indicate that around 650,000 unfilled vacancies exist, up by 46,000 (7.6 per cent) on the same period last year.
Commenting on the figures, Ms Kennedy stated: “This month there are more than twenty eight and a half million people in work for the first time ever.
“Compared to this time last year there are more people with a job, fewer unemployed jobseekers and fewer who are outside the labour market.”
She added: “The effect of the Government’s policies can be seen in these figures. The success of the economy means more opportunities for people to work.”
But, the Conservatives said the true story about the figures was that the New Deal hadn’t worked.
David Willetts, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “There are now over 1,126,000 young people who are neither working nor studying nor training. This is the highest figure since Labour came to office.
“More than one million people have now passed through the New Deal for Young People, but the number of under-25s neither working nor in full-time education is 44,000 higher than when Labour came to office.”
And the Liberal Democrats said that the increase in employment rates for older women showed that many could simply not afford to retire. They point out that the employment rate for women between 50 and 59 has risen by 6.7 per cent and that there are 30 per cent more women past retirement age in work than eight years ago.
Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat, work spokesman, said: “The increased participation of older women in the labour market is welcome news. But we must ask if this is being driven by the pensions injustice suffered by women. The Government treats pensioners like second class citizens and female pensioners like third class citizens.
“There is a huge difference between male and female state pension levels and the gap is only being reduced at the rate of 40p a year. On present trends it could be 100 years before the typical woman retires on the same pension as her male counterpart.”
