Jobs Foundation respond to March Labour Statistics

IMMEDIATE REACTION

Job data: “Pace on job growth not enough” 

In response to the new data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics on February’s employment levels, Matthew Elliott, President of the Jobs Foundation, has highlighted the need for more new jobs to ‘Get Britain Working’.

“The Government should be celebrated for this week’s welfare reforms, but today’s latest employment figures demonstrate that this is only one piece of the puzzle to ‘Get Britain Working’ again.

“Figures show that the number of payrolled employees was just 67,000 higher in February compared to the previous year. If employment growth continues at this rate, it would take nearly twenty years to reach the Government’s target of getting 2m people back to work.

“To get people into work more quickly, as well as reforming welfare, the Government must give businesses the policy environment they need to create new jobs and provide decent training. The rise in Employer NICs should be scrapped, the Employment Rights Bill revisited, and the upcoming Spring Statement needs to include concrete policies to drive economic growth.”