Warning to Yorkshire over cuts

A report from think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research warns of the scale of the challenge facing the UK labour market, with between 1.5 and two million new jobs needed to return the employment rate to its pre-recession level of 73 per cent.

The report also reveals Yorkshire is particularly vulnerable because of the high percentage of public sector employees and states the UK will still be some way short of full employment by the beginning of 2016, eight years after the recession began.

It argues that this slow recovery increases the risk that people will become discouraged from work as their skills become redundant.

IPPR associate director for economic policy Tony Dolphin said: “There is little evidence to suggest the private sector will be able to meet the challenge over the next four years without help from Government.

“Cutting corporate tax rates, deregulation and the creation of new Enterprise Zones are an inadequate response to the challenge. The Government should work with others to do more to support growth in the short-term. We cannot afford to let people permanently drift away from the jobs market.”