Employment Spokesman: Paul Keetch
According to the Labour Force Survey, unemployment fell again in the period March to May this year. But the Claimant Count rose in June for the second consecutive month. Liberal Democrat Employment Spokesman Paul Keetch commented on the figures: “The Fall in real unemployment is welcome, but what these figures suggest today is that the Government’s flagship policy, the New Deal, is failing. “It may be early days yet for the New Deal, but claimant unemployment is rising despite the number of young people entering New Deal. “This can not be seen as good news for the Government.” Average Earnings rose to 5.4%, in April. “Average Earnings have been rising for many months now, this is putting even more inflationary pressure on the economy. “Skills shortages really must be dealt with by the Government to stop wages going up and up. This does not bode well for the future of the economy and unemployment.” 33,000 JOBS LOST IN MANUFACTURING - MORE TO COME. Although claimant unemployment fell by 16,400 this month, the number of people working in the manufacturing industry was down by 33,000 (0.8%) on the last quarter. Liberal Democrat Employment spokesman Paul Keetch commented: “These figures show that the Jekyll and Hyde economy is alive and well in the UK. Manufacturing has lost 33,000 jobs while the service sector continues to grow. “We have been warning of job losses in manufacturing for many months now. If action is not taken by the Government, there may be more to come. “The Prime Minister is alarmed enough to pay a visit to the threatened Fujitsu factory in his constituency. He should now accept that his ‘one club’ economic policy which relies on interest rates alone is putting more and more industrial jobs in danger.”
AGEISM IN COMPANIES MUST BE STAMPED OUT. Barkers Human Resources Advertising today highlighted the difficulty over-40s have in finding employment due to ageism within companies. Paul Keetch MP, Liberal Democrat Employment and Training spokesman, commenting on this report, said: "Employers should remember that older people can bring great experience to a job and they should be valued and utilised as the assets that they are, not rejected out of hand. I hope that employers follow the example of those national companies which have actively recruited those aged over 40. "Liberal Democrats demand a tightening up of advertising standards in this area in order to help create a more balanced workforce and fairer labour market. "Liberal Democrats deplore discrimination in whatever form it takes and will continue to work for an end to this, and other all types of, discrimination."
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