Cutbacks put 53,000 jobs ‘at risk’ in Yorkshire

As many as 53,000 jobs could be lost in Yorkshire over the next five years as a direct result of the Government’s plans to reduce public sector spending, a report claims.

Plans to transfer employment from the public to private sector will actually cut £7.3bn from Yorkshire’s output, said economists who also warn that even if private sector job growth continues as forecast – a “very tall order” according to the analysts – the region will still lose 5,000 jobs.

The study, produced by moribund regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, also claims that the effects will not be uniform across Yorkshire, with Sheffield, York, Barnsley and Hull predicted to be the worst affected.

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It states that places already suffering economic disadvantage such as Barnsley and Hull will be in greater need of stimuli and that Sheffield, York and Hambleton’s reliance on the public sector for job creation in recent years will count against them.

However, the report does not predict entirely bad news for Yorkshire’s economy, stating that the private sectors of Leeds, Craven, Richmondshire, Selby and Rotherham are expected to create enough jobs to offset losses in the public sector.

However, it also warned that households which are already economically deprived will be the worst hit.

In the study’s conclusions its authors say: “The private sector needs to create 1.3 million jobs over the next five years in order for the Government’s jobs growth targets to be achieved.

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“To put this in context, in the five years before the recession the UK economy created 1.5 million jobs, 57 per cent of which was in the private sector.

“This means that the private sector, which is emerging very tentatively from a deep recession, needs to create more than twice as many jobs as it did in the boom years, over the next five years. This is a very tall order indeed.”

The findings are published at the same time as research from the McKinsey Global Institute claimed that West Yorkshire’s economy would hold up well over the next 15 years.

The inclusion of York in the list of areas expected to suffer the most is likely to surprise many, and while the report’s authors acknowledge the city is not generally deprived, it has been too heavily reliant on the public sector for job creation.

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In contrast Craven is said to be well placed due to growing financial, creative and business services industries in the region.

Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York Central, said: “York will be hit by coalition cuts with a double whammy. First we will lose public sector jobs like many other towns and cities. But we are vulnerable because the number of public sector jobs doubled while Labour was in power.

“But also York has a large number of construction industry jobs and that has been hit for six since the Government pulled back spending.”

However York City Council leader Andrew Waller, a Liberal Democrat, took issue with the report, saying it had not taken into account the Science City development in the city.

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Rosie Winterton, chief whip for the Labour Party and former Government Minister for Yorkshire, said: “This is an extremely worrying report which shows the disastrous effects of the Government’s cuts on Yorkshire and the Humber region.

“We need a positive strategy for growth not a budget of cuts and job losses.”

A Department for Business spokesman said the Government had made significant changes to how regional help was delivered to ensure power was handed over to local communities.

“Local enterprise partnerships are well placed to understand the needs of the area and what needs to be done to address any barriers to local growth,” he said.

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“The report forecasts the private sector will create new jobs and that companies are actively seeking opportunities in new markets.

“The £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund will also seek to boost long- term private sector jobs growth, in particular supporting bids in areas of deprivation and which are dependent on the public sector.”