Northern job losses bring call for targeted support

UNEMPLOYMENT in the North of England is rising at four times the rate of the rest of the country, according to new figures which have again led to calls for more targeted support for the regions from Westminster.

Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research North suggests that just under 100,000 jobs were lost across Yorkshire, the North West and North East last year – an 18 per cent increase on 2010 which far outstripped the 4.5 per cent rise across the rest of the country.

IPPR North director Ed Cox said job losses in the northern regions had mostly come in the private sector in the 20 months leading up to the general election in May 2010, but had subsequently switched to the public sector as the coalition Government’s austerity measures began to bite.

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But he added it was important to address the situation positively, calling for targeted measures in parts of the country where unemployment is particularly high.

“Clearly the recession is having a greater impact on the North than it is elsewhere,” Mr Cox said.

“So that’s all the more reason to redouble out efforts to ensure the northern economy can grow.”

The Government has repeatedly pledged to “rebalance” the economy – usually referring to the need to grow sectors such as manufacturing, so reducing the UK’s reliance upon its finance industries.

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But Mr Cox said the coalition should also be aiming for a “spatial rebalancing”.

“We need growth policies targeted at certain areas,” he said. “When an area falls below a certain level of employment, or where the job-seeker to job-vacancy ratio hits a certain point, we need to see a job guarantee scheme introduced to avoid the sort of widespread unemployment blight we have experienced in the past.”

Opinion & Analysis: Page 11.