Ministers optimistic over new jobs

Employment Minister Chris Grayling welcomed the figures as “another step in the right direction” but warned against getting carried away as he admitted rising levels of youth unemployment across the country are a concern.

The surge in employment between December and February gives a boost to the Government’s economic strategy which is reliant on the private sector growing to swallow up job losses as public spending is cut. The figures come just a day after Ministers announced £47m for seven projects in Yorkshire from the Regional Growth Fund, with the promise of up to 10,000 jobs being saved or created over the next few years.

But Ministers remain acutely aware of the economy’s fragility and despite more people in work, unemployment in the region rose by 2,000 and the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits in March also rose by 300.

Nationally unemployment fell by 17,000, down to 2.48 million. But the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits increased by 700 last month to 1.45 million, including 462,300 women, the highest figure since October 1996.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: “These figures are another step in the right direction. It’s good news to see a rise in the number of full-time jobs in the private sector and the fall in unemployment is welcome.

“However, there are challenges ahead and our priority is to continue to support the economy, by reducing the deficit and putting in place measures to encourage growth in the private sector.”

The figures gave the Government cause for optimism but come before many of the public sector cuts have yet to bite. Councils expect to shed hundreds of jobs, health authorities and police are also predicting job losses and quangos are being axed.

A major concern for Ministers remains the number of young people out of work, with The Prince’s Trust warning “the prospects for a generation of young people are looking increasingly bleak”.

The number of jobless 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 12,000 over the quarter to 963,000, while the total for 16 and 17-year-olds increased by 14,000 to 218,000, the highest since records began in 1992. The number of unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds fell by 2,000 on the quarter to reach 745,000.

Mr Grayling said a Government programme of work experience, apprenticeships and tailored support for jobseekers were all designed to tackle the problem.

Shadow Work And Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne said: “There are some encouraging signs but people will be really worried that the numbers on the dole have gone up again. This is helping push the benefits bill up by £12.5bn, which is £500 per household. That makes the deficit harder to pay down.”

Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “While the jobs figures are apparently signalling green for go, they reflect an improvement in the labour market at the turn of the year and don’t tell us anything much about the road ahead.”

The apparent discrepancy in rising unemployment at the same time of growing employment is explained by a rise in the number of people in the region classed as economically active, either because of population changes or more people actively looking for work.

The small rise in the number of people on Job Seekers Allowance could be explained by a Government push to get lone parents off Income Support and onto JSA when their children reach school age.