Ministers are encouraged by fall in unemployment

The Government yesterday welcomed an “encouraging” fall in unemployment and a rise in jobs although unions expressed concern about huge cuts among the public sector workforce.

Unemployment fell by 88,000 in the three months to April, the biggest quarterly cut in more than a decade, taking the jobless total to 2.43 million.

But the news was marred by an increase of 19,600 in the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance last month to 1.49 million, the worst figure for more than a year.

Economic inactivity increased by 39,000 in the three months to April to reach 9.37 million, more than a fifth of the working age population.

Government hopes that private firms will create jobs as posts are cut in the public sector were given a boost with news that employment in the private sector increased by 104,000 in the first three months of the year to 23 million. At the same time, public sector employment fell by 24,000 over the quarter and by 143,000 over the past year, to 6.1 million, and the decline would have been bigger but for the 15,000 temporary jobs created to deal with the Census.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: “This is another encouraging set of figures and a very welcome drop in unemployment.

“It’s also good news that employment is going in the right direction with half a million more people in private sector jobs compared to this time last year.

“The fall in the number of unemployed young people also means that the total is now lower than it was before the General Election.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, said: “The small fall in the jobless total will be no comfort to the hundreds of thousands of public sector workers with redundancy notices hanging over their heads.”

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Today’s unemployment figures are a welcome tonic to the raft of recent poor economic data.

“The significant fall in youth unemployment is encouraging.

“But with 820,000 more people out of work now than they were before the recession, the labour market is still a long way off a return to full fitness.”

The 88,000 fall in unemployment in the three months to April was the biggest quarterly cut since the summer of 2000.