Responding to the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday) by the Office for National Statistics, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Rob Johnston (above) said:
“These figures are excellent news. People will be relieved
to see unemployment falling sharply and redundancies decreasing.
“It is also encouraging to see full-time jobs making up
three quarters of recent employment growth, and there has been a welcome
increase in vacancies. The labour market is proving far more resilient than the
rest of the economy.
“The only people not sharing in this good news are young
people looking for work. Long-term youth joblessness is up by 18,000 on the
quarter to reach 421,000.
“The government must prioritise tackling long-term youth
unemployment before any more careers are wrecked before they barely get off the
ground.
“And while more people are in work, they are still getting
poorer in real terms in wages grow at less than half the rate of inflation.
“Jobs growth needs to be accompanied by stronger wage
growth if consumer spending is to help drive our economic recovery.”
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